The Shards
by DaemonicKitten
Summary: What if...Instead of the cube disappearing when it was shoved into Megatron's chest, it shattered instead, sending countless shards all over the world? What if the Autobots had a new mission? And what if they met new allies along the way?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own Transformers, or even InuYasha. In fact, for safety sake, let's say the only thing I own are my OCs, and if even _those_ have borrowed traits, I'll let you know before hand.

**Note** : I got into reading fanfictions for the animé/manga InuYasha recently and a dream sort of inspired this. Set at the end of the 07 movie.

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**Brief FYI** - **YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ THIS SUMMARY, IF YOU KNOW WHAT INUYASHA IS. FEEL FREE TO SKIP THIS PORTION OF THE NOTE.**

For those that _don't_ know...

InuYasha is a story about a modern era Japan girl who travels into the past into 'Feudal Japan', where she meets a half demon by the name of...can you guess it? Yup, InuYasha. He's a half dog demon with little to no manners, who desires power and was sealed to an ancient tree with a mystical arrow 50 years earlier.

He hates her upon her arrival into his time, because physically she looks quite similar to the woman who trapped him, Kikyo, who is a priestess with great holy power. A priestess he loves, but refuses to admit to it, because the last thing he remembers is being attacked by said priestess, who sealed him to the tree.

Basically, the story starts that the girl falls into an ancient dry well in her time, modern day, and is chased through a magical portal in the bottom by a powerful demon who wishes for the jewel found within the girl's body. She ends up injured and slowly dying in the hands of this unnamed demon, when she frees InuYasha from the tree and he kills it, before trying to steal the jewel for himself. In the end, another demon comes looking for the jewel, and she fires an arrow at the bird, only to hit the jewel instead, causing it to shatter.

InuYasha is forced to join her on a journey for the jewel shards, along with other allies along the way, and ends up falling for her, but then Kikyo comes back, messing everything up. And yes, I mean back, as in back to life, even if she _is_ made of clay and bone.

I really don't know how much of that story I'm really going to borrow though, and for those of you that know the animé, if I screwed up the explanation, sorry. I've never been good at summarizing stories.

**BACK TO THE REGULAR NOTE.**

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**NOTE** : Ok two points, really...

**1)** If you see 'Bella' at all as the OC femme's name, please let me know. I tried to keep it straight, but caught myself making numerous mistakes, and might have missed some. The character's name is _not_ Bella, though she does share some traits.

**2)** You also might notice a few similarities between this and 'Undercover'. Like some OC characters or such. Mostly it will be in the sparkling area, really. I will say now, any names I use, I don't own. Credit will be given where credit is due.

**Summary** : What if... Instead of the cube disintegrating when it was shoved into Megatron's chest, it shattered, sending countless shards of blue light streaking into the sky? What if the Autobots had a new mission? To keep an eye out for any reports of strange activity, and then hunt down the shards, one by one? What if... the Witwickys, Mikeala, the Lennox's...basically all the humans in the movies, were _not_ the only humans to find out about the Autobots? And what if, while in physical contact with the allspark shards, anything is possible, good _or_ bad?

**Pairings** : Mostly canon, haven't decided on the main pairing yet. We'll see as I go. XD

**Warning/Rating** : Rated for language, possibly graphic violence and possible adult scenes. Viewer discretion is advised. 'T' for now, but might go up to 'M'.

**Legend** :

"Speaking"

_Thoughts_

_**'Internal Comms'**_

_**Lyrics/Test Messages/Notes**_

**Flashbacks/Dreams/Visions**

**(Scene/POV Change)**

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**(Normal POV)**

As Sam watched Optimus and Megatron both fall, his heart jolted oddly. He winced and rubbed at his aching chest, before quickly scrambling behind some debris with a ragged breath, panting and praying for Optimus to get back up and fight.

_One will stand, and one will fall._

He frowned as he watched the two both struggled to their feet, exchanging awkward looks. Megatron was openly seething that he was facing a worthwile opponent, and Optimus had grim determination, but it was tinged with something else. Was that...regret? There was no time to wonder as they both raced forward at the same time, exchanging lightning fast punches and kicks, dodging and ducking, and clashing together like thunder.

_If I cannot defeat Megatron, you must push the allspark into my chest. I will sacrifice my life to save this planet._

Blinking, Sam scooted again as Optimus staggered back, only to swipe a foot under Megatron, sending the larger, evil bot crashing down. _Sacrifice his life?_ He found himself dashing forward, ignoring the painful pulling in his chest as he ran, stumbling often in exhaustion and panic, and then jumping back as the fallen form of Megatron seemed to jolt forward. _It'll kill him._

He ducked as Megatron leaned down to grasp him, crying out in terror, even as his body sagged when the evil Decepticon leader went flying, thanks to Optimus tackling them. They tumbled and rolled, exchanging more punches and kicks and angry clicks and whirls as they went. Megatron fired a blast at Optimus, who went flying, and remained down.

_No! Get up!_ Sam's mouth refused to work as he ducked behind a fallen part of a building, watching as Optimus seemed barely able to move. Just as he was saying his prayers, however, several aircraft flew overhead, bombarding Megatron with shots and sending him crashing down, his chest glowing with an almost dirty red light from where a panel got knocked off. _Wait..._

_I will sacrifice my life, to save this planet._

If pushing the allspark into Optimus' chest would kill him and destroy it, it stood to reason doing the same to Megatron would work as well, right? Honestly, as Sam raced forward, pushing himself to his limit as his heart raced with terror and adrenaline, he only really had one thought on his mind. _Better him than you._ He stopped, staggering back as Megatron pushed himself up onto his hands and knees.

"Give me the cube, boy!" He growled, barely able to support his weight on his hands.

Optimus was moving once again, behind him. "Now, Sam! Push the cube into my chest!"

_No!_ Sam barely inclined his head in Optimus' direction, the only hesitation he showed, before biting his lip and reaching out towards the Decepticon now towering over him.

"No, Sam!"

_Better him than you._ He pushed the allspark closer, and watched as it seemed to catch fire and glow brightly, pulling out of his grasp as it burned hotly against the Decepticon leader's chest. Sam very nearly sagged in relief when the unusual strain on his chest seemed to fade, although he felt weaker than he would have liked.

Megatron screamed, his body thrashing around wildly as he clawed futilely at his chest, his expression one of rage and disbelief, even as his eyes glazed over, and with a final ragged breath, he fell over backwards, twitching a his eyes and heart slowly gave out.

Optimus was standing once again, a look of true pain and regret in his eyes as he stepped forward and knelt down. "You left me no choice, brother."

_Brother?!_ Sam turned to look at Optimus, but suddenly, a flash of light caught his attention. He was barely aware of the Autobot leader practically leaping to his feet, or being scooped up into massive hands. No, he was stuck watching as the cube glowed bright blue and floated high into the air. It bypassed many aircraft still in the area, growing higher and higher.

Then it hit Sam, the sky was growing darker and darker as it went, until the cube was a glowing bright spot amongst the darkness.

"What's happening?!"

Optimus' fingers tightened around the boy as he pulled him closer to his damaged torso. "I do not know, Samuel."

Suddenly, the light of the cube seemed to brighten, and it flashed. Lights began separating, and even from that distance, Sam could make out the fact that the cube...was...._shattering_?? Several slivers of light, more than two dozen at _least_, flew off in every direction like shooting stars, glowing as they disappeared into the distance.

"It..."

A large, glowing shard slowly seemed to flutter down from the sky, coming to land in Optimus' outstretched hand, and both the human and Autobot watched, shocked, as the light died out.

"It _shattered_?!"

**(????'s POV)**

I sighed and stretched, before picking up my bow and arrows, slinging my quiver across my back, and taking aim. I eyed the target in the distance, closing one eye to make sure my aim was good, before knocking an arrow, taking a deep cleansing breath, and letting it fly. Then I sat back and watched as it struck the target, not dead center, but fairly close.

"Getting better." I murmured with a smile, slinging my bow over my shoulder and walking over to the target. I closed my eyes, tilting my head back and taking a deep breath, before leaning forward as I opened them and pulling the arrow loose. "It's nice here." I kept my smile on my face as I turned and walked back towards my earlier sport, brushing off my black jeans and pulling at my tank top, which had a habit of rising up in the front where the bowstring caught against it.

Once I was back at my starting point, I put the arrow back in the quiver, and was about to unsling my bow when a high pitched whistling caught my attention. I found myself looking around. "What?" My smile faded, and I quickly grabbed my bow, knocking an arrow and looking around as the whistling grew louder. "What _is_-" It suddenly hit me the sound was coming from above.

My head shot up, and I screamed, jumping to the side and rolling a few times, even as I felt the earth shake with an impact. I covered my head, lying on my stomach and trying to ignore the pull of the bow on the crook of my arm, uncomfortably. Dirt and tiny rocks flew up, landing on me, and I coughed as dust flew through the air.

_What the hell was that?!_

Shuddering, I finally dared a glance up, pushing my long brown hair out of my face as I looked around. I spotted a hole in the ground, much too close to where I'd been standing for comfort, and I slowly leaned up, peering at it as I shakily climbed to my feet, trying to ignore the way my heart almost seemed to stutter.

I stepped forward, slinging my bow again once I realized a meteor must have landed in my backyard. Then I began to giggle.

"A _meteor_?!? Wow. What a story." I let out a breath and took a moment to calm my heart, feeling slightly hysterical by my close call. "I'm probably the only one who can honestly say she was almost hit by a meteor." After all, it wasn't every day a meteor even survived entry into the earth's atmosphere, let alone landed anywhere near populated areas.

Then I winced.

_Well, except for those reported earlier in Tranquility._ I thought absently, before shaking my head. _But that might as well have been halfway across the planet, for the good it does a Canadian girl._ I stepped forward. And again. Finally, I was at the lip of the hole and looked in. "What the...?" With a frown, I carefully stepped into the surprisingly small hole and crouched down, trying to ignore the disgusting smell of scorched earth and plants.

There, in front of me, lay a piece of jagged brown metal. It was probably about an inch and a half long, and roughly shaped light a lightning bolt, with all sorts of strange symbols. The sci-fi freak inside me immediately began squealing it had to be alien, but the more logical side of me argued it was just a piece of a satelite or something, that was destroyed in a meteor storm and those were probably just _scratches_ that _looked_ like alien symbols.

Either way, I hesitantly reached out, quickly tapping the piece of metal and almost being startled when I realized it was warm but not hot, and seemed to catch the sunlight in just such a way, I'd almost swear it glowed. I picked it up and held it in my hand, trying to ignore the strange hum of energy I'd _swear_ it gave off as I realized it was heavier than I expected.

_It's kinda cool._ Plain yet totally alien in it's own way. I had to smile as I closed my fingers around the piece of metal and slowly made my way back to my house. _Huh, my very own piece of space. Who would've ever thought?_

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Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	2. Reactions

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : There will be a lot of POV switching in this story. Mostly at least one a chapter (most chapters), showing different POVs. You'll see what I mean. Also, don't expect extraordinarily long notes in most chapters. I don't make a habit of that, it was just for the first chapter and the summarization. -.-' LOL

Also, it might seem a little run on. It does to me, and I can't figure out why. Sorry if it does. There's plenty of action coming.

This is just a filler chapter that I added last minute, so if any information in this chapter and the next it out of order, sorry about that. I went back and forth, trying to keep an eye on things, but... Nobody's perfect. -.-'

**Review Replies...**

**Hawkeye** : Really? Wow, talk about a coincidence. No, I didn't label it as anything but a bow. Basically, it's quite similar to the bow Kagome usually uses in Inuyasha, but then she uses a variety of bows. Sometimes it shows it slung over her shoulder, and sometimes she's carrying it, or she doesn't have a bow at all. I don't know a lot about archery, just what I've picked up from camp years ago, and watching Inuyasha. I'm not an archer, but I am Canadian. ^^

**Hawkeye** : (Are you the same as above? Just curious. I had to take a double and triple look at the review alert. -.-') Um, I'm not sure, really. I do have other ideas sitting around for Autobot Pranks, but I haven't had the muse to write it. For now I've set it as complete. If I ever get the muse...

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**(Two Months Later, ????'s POV)**

Grasping the shard of metal I wore around my neck, I took a deep breath, struggling to ignore the way my heart fluttered in my chest unevenly. _At least I feel stronger._ I wanted to laugh. As I looked out the window of my car, I turned off the engine. _Still sick to my stomach, but stronger._ My hands shook with nerves, but I refused to aknowledge it as I grasped my bow and arrows, climbing out of my car and locking up behind me, before leaning my bow against the side of the car to double check my quiver.

_...38...39...40. Good. Got them all._ Biting my lip, I slung my quiver on my back, before grabbing up my bow. Part of me wanted to admit that counting them had been fruitful, but if I was being honest, I was just trying to calm myself down by distracting myself.

But that all flew out the window when I turned and faced the building behind me.

"Holy freaking crap!" I could only stand and blink, taking in the number of people entering the arena before me. _And I thought last year's turnout was huge._ Shaking my head, I slung my bow over my shoulder before walking up to the doorman. I glared at him when his eyes raked over me, and then told him my name, fingering my bow in a way that made him swallow and turn away almost nervously. _Serves you right, perve!_

I wasn't what a lot of people would call extraordinarily pretty, but my work kept my in shape, and when you were dressed the same as me, you tended to get looks. It was annoying, really.

"Alright, go ahead in. And, uh...be careful with those things."

I forced a smile as I raised an eyebrow. "I'm always careful. Unlike a gun, my bow doesn't go off unless I _want_ it to, and then _only_ _where_ I want it to." _Usually._ With that pointed warning, I walked past him, grabbing my member's pass and clipping it to the collar of my costume, before stepping inside.

_Like I stated before... Holy freaking crap!_ My eyes widened at the stands, which were full of people cheering and muttering to themselves. I watched numerous contestants down in the pit, practicing on the smaller targets, or conversing with each other, and swallowing nervously again, I stepped forward, beginning my way down the path.

"She's a contestant? She can't be more than seventeen!"

I wanted to laugh. I got that a lot. I was small framed, and my martial arts and archery kept me lithe and lean. People always seemed to peg me for a kid, when I couldn't be further from it.

"She's so tiny!"

Biting my lip, I stepped over a fallen backpack, and paused on the stair well.

"Maybe she's having second thoughts?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. _Look_ at her! Half the contestants are more than twice her size alone!"

My mind picked up the words, but I ignored them, blinking and frowning when everything was suddenly awash with lights. My eyes darted over the crowd, scanning the people and my heart doing flip flops at the darkness of some of their lights, or...auras. At least, I figured I was seeing their auras, since the lights changed per person, and I used to be able to sense a person's aura if I really concentrated.

In other words, I could usually tell if a person was a good person or not, but that's about it. Now it was like I was seeing their auras, telling me who was good and who was really, _really_ bad.. I watched as one man angrily pushed past a family, glowering at them darkly enough to make the father pull his children away. The man's aura was a dark teal.

Another was a dark crimson, but he seemed to be sneering as he looked down at the archers. Almost all the darker aura'd epople seemed to have attitude problems, and it made me nervous. Ok, this whole damned thing made me nervous, but... That was the worst part.

_What is with these people?_ I frowned, before forcing my feet to move. I tried to blink away the auras, finding it harder for some strange reason. Not that I was used to seeing them like this, especially just popping up, but I really didn't need it happening _now_. I made it down three more steps before I froze again, this time because I sensed something. It was...dark and cold, but really close by. My eyes darted around again, and other than the handful of people whose auras frightened me, I couldn't find the source of that power that seemed to tug at my heart to find it. _What the heck's wrong with me?_

I shook my head, traversing down the final steps and into the pit. I could hear people murmuring about my courage for being there, but it wasn't so much courage, as I just wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing at that moment. My fingers were curled around the piece of metal I wore on a thick chain, that _just_ fit through a tiny jagged hole on one end of the shard.

The metal was something I was wary about, but when I'd tried to remove it before -and yes, I'd tried to remove it before- something inside _screamed_ not to, and I felt strangely weak. It didn't help that I'd just recently gotten over being very sick because of it, but I felt...strangely incomplete when I'd gotten the chain undone, and placed the shard on my nighstand by my bed.

It didn't take me long to put it back on, and I felt stronger again.

Things were changing. That's all there was to it. I wasn't seeing it as a shard of a satellite anymore. No, something told me the metal was alien in design, the fact that I'd gotten _sick_ off it only helping to further that confusion.

"That's not what I need to be thinking about right now." I muttered to myself as I stepped further into the ring. I made my way over to the judges to sign in, waiting in line behind half a dozen people, all dressed in varying styles of Japanese wear, carrying different sized bows, with twice the normal number of arrows in their quivers in order to have spares to practice with. I smiled to one woman, who smiled back and wished me good luck, before making my way up to the judges.

I once again told them my name and got signed in. I showed them the required ID, before signing a waiver and sighing as I nodded, making my way towards one of the few empty targets. I set up in front of it, unslinging my bow and grabbing an arrow. Scuffing my feet in the sand, I found my center balance and knocked the arrow, the bow pointing to the ground as rules of safety pointed out, before lifting skywards and slowly lowering it to the desired spot.

Closing one eye, I carefully aimed, and then fired, sinking my teeth into my cheek to keep from smiling when I hit surprisingly close to the center.

"Hah, lucky shot."

Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I watched as a man with an alarmingly dark aura took aim with his own bow, not bothering to follow safety regulations, and carelessly let fly, then raised an eyebrow when he hit the edge of the target and growled. _So then I guess I can call that an _un_lucky shot, huh?_

Shifting my eyes to the crowd, it seemed I was unable to look away. I scanned the security personelle, noticing two eyeing my fellow archer with grim looks, but something behind them caught my eye. The line was filled with police and paramedics, but I glanced past the majority of them milling around, discussing things seriously.

I spotted a form, half obscured by other officers standing in the way. I couldn't see his face, just that it was a man who wore a police uniform, but that's not what caught me. What caught me was the fact that every last one of these people around me had _some_ form of aura. Some lighter, some darker, and some shifting with their moods. This man, however... He stood there, stock straight, his face obscured by one man, and part of his form obscured by shadow.

He had no aura.

I took a moment, taking in his form. For some reason, I felt drawn towards him. I took two steps in his direction, my mind running over various reasons I could have for approaching him, when the screams started.

Everything was more or less a blur after that.

I found myself spinning, watching as people began racing around. Some were screaming about a bomb, others about fire, and yet others about monsters. I had to side step several people, and was still jostled around as even the other contestants began rushing. Spinning a few times, trying to locate the source of the scream, even as my heart pounded in terror, I froze.

The police and paramedics seemed frozen and as confused as I was, but the man with no aura was gone. I couldn't see him anywhere.

Then I heard a roar.

Spinning once again, I raised my bow as I spotted a...a....a _creature_ rushing through the crowd. I felt the same tug, but my eyes didn't remain on it for long, before a low hiss caught my attention.

Grabbing an arrow, I turned and aimed my bow, gasping and feeling my eyes widen when I saw the man from before. The rude man who'd insulted me. His shirt was tearing, his skin becoming motley blue-green, and large..._lumps_ forming. One arm grew three times thicker, countless fleshy mounds forming all over it, even as he screamed an inhuman sound.

My eyes darted down to my bow, which was shaking, before they flew up to the monster which had spun towards me. His eyes were blank, one almost melting out of it's socket, but the other was fixed on me... Or rather, my throat. He reached out, staggering towards me.

"Stay back!" I yelled, taking a step back, and shaking, gasping for breath as my mind scattered with the civilians. _What the hell's going on here?! Is this some sort of sick joke??!_ "I'm warning you, I _will_ fire!" I pulled the arrow back further, the bowstring growing even more taught. A warmth flooded me, but instead of feeling frightened, the strange power seemed to soothe me.

Something screamed this monster either couldn't understand me, or was too far gone to care. Either way, I found my fingers allowing the arrow to slip free, almost against my will, and watched as it sank into the creature's leg, dropping it.

With that, I turned and ran.

I thought if I ran far enough, fast enough, I could get away from all this. My mind was spinning. I had no idea what was going on, but it almost felt like something else was controlling me. As I ran, the warmth inside me faded, leaving me cold and terrified. I made it out onto the street, barely aware I'd lost a few arrows along the way. I pushed past some people, helping others up, and just blindly running.

But I couldn't get away.

I found that out quick enough.

Seeing an elderly woman being knocked to the ground by a monster, I reached back, grabbed an arrow and knocked it. Then I let fly the quite possibly fatal shot.

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**Note** : For those curious, the following characters will be my versions of the Inuyasha characters.

Kagome = My main OC

Rin/Sango = Another OC you'll meet in the next chapter or two.

As more characters arrive, I'll list who their counterpart is in a note at the end of the chapter. And if they don't really have an Inuyasha character counterpart, I won't list them at all. ^^

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	3. Consequences

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : A haori is a type of Japanese dress. I'd just google it if you're interested.

Also, so far I've seen Barricade's name mentioned, but... I never said the cop was Barricade, now did I? I'm surprised his was the only name I heard of. XD Ah well, you'll see soon enough.

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**(At The Base, Normal POV)**

Sam sighed and fingered the bandage on his hand, thankful it could come off today. _Only I could save a planet from giant alien robots, and not realize what I was doing to _myself_ at the same time._ He winced a little, rubbing at his chest as he sat on the medical gurney in Ratchet's temporary med bay.

"Heart still bothering you?" Mikeala walked over with a small smile, removing her coat before standing in front of him, kissing him lightly and getting to work on removing the bandages. "You should tell Ratchet if it is. I know he can be a little...strict-"

"A _little_?" He winced, remembering how he'd been forced on two weeks of bed rest because of his injuries. They were hardly life threatening, although he did get an alien form of radiation poisioning that made him really sick.

Laughing a little, she shot him a look. "Ok, a _lot_ strict, but he has your best interests at heart, so to speak." She finished one hand and smiled as she ran her fingers over the now flawless skin on his palm. "And I'm really thankful to him for that."

Sighing a little, Sam pulled her close. "So am I. Look, it's not my heart. It's just...the rememberance. Phantom pains. I seriously can't believe I got _that_ sick for being in contact with the allspark for only a couple of hours."

"I guess now we know why every worker in the room was wearing Hazmat suits." She sighed. "Those shards...out there. People have come into contact with them, had them for _over_ two months." She shuddered a little, before pulling back and getting to work on his other hand. "What do you think happened to them?"

"Ratchet has no idea, so honestly, neither do I." Sam was frowning deeply. "He said it could kill or change them, as far as he knows. I'm almost afraid to ask what he meant by 'change' them."

A yellow search and rescue Hummer H2 chose that moment to pull up and transform into the towering form of their medic friend. "I mean that it can change organic material into synthetic. It could change them into a human-Cybertronian hybrid, a full Cybertronian, or a truly deformed creature." He tapped his helmet and an image appeared of a creature that resembled a human in no way but for the fact it stood on two legs, and had two arms. "This is an example."

"Oh God! Can they be changed back?" Mikeala put a hand over her mouth in horror, shuddering as she leaned against Sam, happy he'd been spared.

"No. It appears the changes are irreversable. I've tried everything I know, and I'm still trying." The Autobot medic was grimer than usual. "We've only collected six shards, too, meaning there are many more still out there."

"Doing God-knows-what to people." Sam's expression matched that of Ratchet's. "I bet the Government is kicking itself that it kept us pretty much prisoner for so long. Did they agree to the idea of starting a human-Autobot speciality team?"

"The idea is still 'on the drawing board' I believe the term was. We do have permission to acquire the aid of any humans we desire, as long as they are willing, and Major Lennox has already agreed with only the stipulation that his family be allowed to stay on base, for their safety."

"And Optimus' message?" Mikeala asked quietly.

"Other than Sideswipe and Jolt, no one has answered, that we know of." Ratchet sighed. "We will need all the help we can get in finding those other shards before even more damage has been done. We've already counted over one hundred humans who have come into contact with the allspark shards and been changed into these severely deformed, manic creatures, and even more who became severely ill, but have recovered. I...worry to see what other damage has been done."

Kneeling down, he watched as Sam winced, undoubtedly feeling the tingling his medical scans usually caused in human subjects. "Forgive me Sam, but I needed to check. On a positive note, you are healing perfectly. There is no remaining radiation in your systems, and your burns have healed better than expected." He nodded, the smallest of relieved smiles crossing his face. "I am relieved."

Then, the med bay door burst open, causing Ratchet's eyes to narrow angrily, before he took in the form of Ironhide in front of him, panting with wild eyes.

"There's a problem!"

**(????'s POV)**

Growling a little, I knocked an arrow as I peered around the corner of a large building. I listened to the screams and cries for help, and felt tears streaming down my cheeks. _Archery competition. I came into town for a damned _archerycompetition_, not a facking war!_ I quickly took aim of one of the...unusual monsters that was currently in the process of taking a bite out of one woman's arm, and fired, nearly cheering as the arrow caught the creature in the head with a solid 'thunk' and it fell over. "Run!" I yelled, ducking behind the wall again.

Breathing heavily, I swallowed, my eyes darting around the small, ruined town. Buildings lay intact, but windows had been shattered. Bodies littered the ground, and people were running every which direction. The sky was dark, cloudy and almost as grim as the situation at hand. Looking down at my bow, I winced. Not the most ideal weapon, but it was all I had, and all I had experience with.

I sensed a...coldness coming from some distance ahead and frowned, grasping at the shard of metal I wore around my throat, under the collar of my deep midnight blue haori. I half groaned as I saw a monster turn towards me and turned myself, running, thanking whatever God was looking down on me that I'd seen to go all out traditional Japanese, _except_ for the knee high black boots I wore under the long skirt instead of the usual sandals which wouldn't have lasted a day in these conditions.

I probably would have cursed my dress though, if I hadn't gotten one with a slit up both sides of the legs to the upper thigh, allowing for easier movement. Otherwise, it was a form fitting haori, midnight blue silk with white flowers embroidered into it, with a floor length skirt that bared about half an inch of my legs on either side and short sleeves. I wore a jean jacket over it. I also wore my hair up in twin buns on the top of my head, with only my bangs down in my face.

_So much for the competition._ I rolled my eyes, and ducked into a building, leaning awkwardly against the wall as I knocked another arrow. I watched as the monster look around blindly. _Damn, you're one ugly motherfacker!_ I thought with a grimace as I raised and aimed the arrow.

The creature was low to the ground, squat and fat, with blackening skin and what looked like three crimson eyes on it's face. It looked like a piece of technology was wrapped around it's throat and chest, and it wore a helmet. All of it ragged metal that almost seemed welded to the skin.

In other words, other than being a little more heavily armored, it looked like a lot of the other monsters. Like some sort of rotting, deformed human, but I knew of nothing that could cause _this_ kind of damage.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and calmed myself, focusing on my aura. As I opened my eyes, I could see the blue glow around me, and focused it into my arrow as I once again took aim. It was an older technique I was taught, to see and focus my aura to make my shots stronger, but ever since finding that shard... It had gotten a lot easier. Well, at least that's what I noticed when this whole ordeal started.

I shot the now glowing arrow and watched half lost in thought as the creature fell, the arrow sticking from it's eye socket.

_That damned shard!_ I had no proof that's what it was, but I couldn't deny it, either. When I'd first found it, I'd gotten horribly sick with what I thought was a nasty cold. It lasted two weeks, and in that time, I felt like I was...getting heavier, and...well... I couldn't really explain it. I could sense auras easier, without needing to concentrate, and one in particular caught my attention when I drove into town.

**Flashback**

Feeling a tugging on my heart, I groaned and coughed, pulling off the streets. I parked next to a café and found myself staring inside in shock. I even had to blink a few times and rub at my eyes to make sure I was seeing things right. I'd only pulled over to take a moment to calm down, but happened to glance inside to... Well, what? I had no idea.

People were sitting at tables chatting happily, or enjoying their treats. Some were standing in line, or even smoking outside the shop. But that wasn't what caught my attention. What caught my attention was the almost glowing black orb of light in one man's pants pocket. It wasn't even a shadow or anything, but almost resembled a tiny black hole that you just couldn't see the bottom of.

It was hard to explain, but I got a sense of urgency as I watched him talking to someone. He looked pale, and seemed to cough within his hand a moment, before returning to talking to the person sitting across from him, a young girl. As I focused, I noticed his aura was dark, and seemed to be growing steadily darker. He yelled at the girl and stood, before stomping off, his aura flashing darkly, even as the little girl sat there, looking shocked.

**End Flashback**

_I didn't interfere._ My thoughts saddened as I walked out of my hiding place, over to my arrow, and pulling it out, shuddering as the sickly wet sound it made coming free, before wiping the bloody tip off on the creature's torn shirt remnants and placing it back in the quiver, slinging the bow as I went.

I sighed heavily, knowing my expression had to be pretty grim. I was _so_ excited to actually participate in an archery competition, for the second year in a row. I'd come into town looking forward to fun and games. As I looked around the ruined buildings and countless bodies, I realized.... Instead of games, I got a war.

A scream got my attention, and I spun, rushing towards the sound with my heart pounding in my ears. I still felt heavy, but I ignored it as I rounded a corner, only to skid to a stop. A young girl was laying sprawled on the ground, trembling violently as she looked up at her captor. She had long blue-black hair and dark eyes that were wide with terror.

Her captor was who made me hesitate in raising my bow. I'd had suspicions, but seeing his tattered clothing, and recognizing the girl, I felt my heart clench agonizingly in realization. His aura was the purest, most frightening shade of black I'd ever seen, and he really only had one eye. The other was covered with what appeared to be melting flesh.

His skin was yellowish white, and he was gaunt as he hobbled closer, his single, red eye flashing as his sagging lips seemed to turn up. He bared fangs at the girl, hissing and growling with a strange gurgling as he shuffled forward, his gait uneven. More than anything, I was struck with how much like a zombie he looked.

I was also struck by the familiarity of the power I sensed coming from him. Cold and dark, it reminded me of what I'd sensed in the arena.

I watched as a nearby body seemed to shudder as he stepped forward, and realized it must have been proximity that caused all these people to change, though what tainted them in the first place was still beyond me.

The creature took another step, and I felt my heart skip a beat as the body shuddered again. _Any closer and it'll probably come back to life._ The thought hit me hard. _Oh sweet Lord, no! That's the last freaking thing I need!_

"Hey!" I shouted, watching the girl scoot back, her whimper reaching me even at several feet away. My eyes locked on his as he looked up, and I shakily raised my bow. _He was human._ They all were, but it was still a hard thing to accept. Humans just _didn't_ turn into deformed monsters! "Just stop! Leave her alone!" _I don't wanna kill you._

"Help me, please!" She cried, reaching one trembling hand towards me.

I grabbed an arrow and knocked it, aiming at the monster before me. I watched as he turned towards me, hesitating again when his aura seemed to flash lighter, before darkening once again. _An aura that flashes lighter...still has hope._ I slowly lowered my weapon, putting the arrow away as I walked closer to him, pausing when he growled again, one hand with fingers inhumanly long, reaching towards the girl threateningly.

"Please-"

"Sssssssilencccceee." The hiss in his words wasn't unlike that of a snake, nor did it pass over my head without me realizing. He frowned and seemed to hesitate reaching for the girl again, his aura flashing.

"Just let her go." I kept my bow at my side, stepping forward again. Only a few feet separated us now, and I couldn't help but grimace at the overwhelming scent of decaying flesh that seemed to drip from him. "You... You can have me." I swallowed heavily, feeling a single bead of sweat running down my forehead. _If I can distract him, maybe we can get away. Or maybe I can find a way to save him. I've killed enough._ I winced again, this time as guilt coursed through me.

His eyes roamed me, and I swallowed again, trying to mask the disgust I felt. Then he sneered. "Priesssstesssss. You are ussselesssss." He looked down again.

His aura darkened once again to it's pure black, and I watched him reaching for the girl. Without even thinking about it, I lashed out. "No!" I dashed forward, reaching out and grabbing his arm, even as my other hand used the bow to press against his chest, pushing him back. "Stop it!!!" I didn't think about what I was doing. I just...willed all my strength, everything inside me, into that push, trying to keep him away from the girl.

There was a loud scream. It took me a minute to distinguish it as his. A bright light flashed in my vision, and I closed my eyes against it instinctually, even as I refused to release his arm. I pulled the arm from the girl, and pushed his body back, feeling white hot heat rush through me outwards from my hand against his chest, before disappearing. The arm in my grasp seemed to...disappear.

Opening my eyes, I blinked to clear my vision of spots, then looked down. I couldn't help the gasp. "What in the name of all that's holy??" There was a glow around my hand that faded as I stared.

"W-What did you-you do?"

I half turned towards the girl, my eyes fixed on the scene before me. The man had more or less disintegrated, leaving behind nothing but clothing and ash. _What _did_ I do?!_ "I... I..." I shook my head. "I dunno." _What the hell?!_

"That stupid piece of metal!" The girl sobbed, running forward and leaning over the ashes, her hands shaking as they lay on the tattered black shirt. "Daddy... I'm so sorry. I didn't know! I didn't know!" She wailed as she clutched at him.

I winced, feeling my heart shudder in her pain. _'Daddy'. Oh lord, no. _Blinking, I focused on her words, knowing there was nothing I could do about it now, even if I did feel like a killer. "Piece of metal?" I echoed, my hand going instinctively to my throat. _She couldn't mean..._

"Y-Yeah." A small sniffle and she reached into his pants pocket, pulling out a tiny piece of metal. "I found it in our garden in a little hole. Mom wasn't happy." The laugh that escaped her was bitter. "It destroyed her garden. I thought it was cool, a piece of alien metal." Turning, she looked at me with tears streaming down her cheeks, and I couldn't peg her for any older than maybe thirteen at the most. "So I gave it to him." She held out her hand, showing me the metal. "For luck."

I gasped again, kneeling down and placing my bow on the ground beside me as I reached out, hesitantly. "That's the same as-"

"I thought he'd love it!" She snifffled again. "And he did...at first. Then he got sick, real sick. When he got better, he was different. He'd snap for no reason, and he started taking money from us, and skipping work." She glared at the metal angrily. "And it only got worse. He stopped eating, his skin got all digusting." A shudder ran through her. "And then he just...changed...into _that_!"

"But, it's just like the piece of metal _I _have!" I frowned, feeling terror pace through my heart as a thought hit me. _Am I going to...?_ "But I didn't change like that. I mean, I got sick, and now things are different, but I don't _want_ to _hurt_ anyone."

"Aren't p-priestesses good guys? He... He called you a 'p-priestess', right?" The girl eyed the piece of metal around my neck, before almost dumping her own into my hand.

I shouted in surprise, echoed by the girl, as a nearly blinding flash of blue light rushed forth as soon as the metal touched my hand. I had to blink once again, with a frown. "Ok, that could grow to be very annoying, and to answer your question, yes. I think priestesses _are_ supposed to be good people." _Well, except for dark priestesses, but I really don't think we need to go into that._ I looked down, and did a double take.

Before, the metal was dull and gave off a feeling of dread. It even emitted an energy aura of the darkest shades of blue, bordering on black. Now, it shone like my own shard, and the aura was a light sky blue. _Wait... _"He _did_ call me a priestess, but I've never even been to _Church._" I frowned. _I can sense auras easily now... I can...turn evil monsters to dust...? And I can...what, purify evil energies from a stone?_ Blinking, I shook my head. "My head hurts." I unhooked my necklace, hesitant to place this shard with the other, but also knowing I didn't have much of a choice.

I couldn't simply leave it here. Someone else would happen across it and could end up in a similar situation to that man. I couldn't give it to anyone else, either. Same reason. And if I was able to sense auras, whose to say someone else couldn't? So burying it would do very little good.

As I refastened my neck, hearing the jangle of the two shards, I sighed. "What's your name?"

Looking up at me with a frown, the girl shrugged, even as she picked at tattered bits of her father's shirt. "Rana Greyson."

With a nod, I forced a bit of a smile. "Well, Rana Greyson, do you have a safe place to go?" Inhuman cries hit my ears, and I quickly stood, picking up my bow and turning towards them.

She shook her head. "He killed mom." It was almost a whisper. "When he first transformed, he killed her, and came after me. These people... We knew them at one point or another. They were people dad talked to a lot."

I nodded again, backing up a step. "Well then, come on. You can stay with me until we find a safe place to leave you." I frowned as I turned, slinging my bow over my shoulder and taking her hand. "By the way, my name's Kendra. Kendra Morgan." I took off, leading her down the streets and further from the cries, only vaguely noting the strange pulling in my heart was gone.

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	4. Information and Confusion

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**OCs and Ages** :

Kendra Morgan - 25

Rana Greyson - 12

Well, those are the rough ages, anyways. Rana's definitely 12, and I don't recall if I mentioned Kendra's exact age, but if not, I doubt I will (And I'm up to chapter 31). Also I've had one person mention that Kendra and 'Bella' (from 'Undercover') are more alike than I thought. I didn't notice when I wrote them that way, and I didn't mean for them to be so alike and so different.

The real reason I had trouble with naming Kendra 'Bella' in this story, is because I started it _just_ as I was finishing 'Undercover' and I had 'Bella' on the brain. If anyone thinks it might be easier to follow or make more sense, I can go through and change her name to 'Bella', but I'm not sure changing her name would benefit the story, really. It's not going to change the fact she both is and is not the main OC from my other story. :S

Anywho, I guess I'll see how everyone likes the story as we go... Sorry it took so long to update, I forgot to put a notice in the last chapter that I'd be out of town with no internet for several days. Do not think this story is going to go to like 10 chapters and just stop... I'm up to chapter 33 so far (and still not done yet).

I do hope you all continue to like the story.

**IMPORTANT NOTICE** : Ok, so I may or may not be updating steadily. Nothing wrong on _my_ part, but I have a fragging arsenist in my apartment complex, so almost every day, we're fleeing our fragging apartments. -.-' So... My story is ready to be posted, I just...either don't have access to the internet, or I'm running out of my apartment at ridiculous hours, with as much as I can carry.

I mean, seriously... 3 fires in 5 days. 2 of which have been in my wing of the building. -.-' Yeah, that's _totally_ believeable as 'coincidence'. Note the sarcasm?

**Review Replies...**

**Hawkeye** : Ahh, ok. It's no problem, I was just wondering if I was seeing things for a moment, or what. But then it hit me, it was an anonymous review, so you can use the same name multiple times in reviewing one chapter, which you can't do when signed in. That's what threw me more than anything.

Ahh, ok. It's no problem. I'm not an archery major, I just use what I've read/seen/learned in the past as reference. I do have a really vague crack-fic chapter idea for 'Autobot Pranks', but I'm working on rewording a song for it, so I'm not sure how that'll go. ^^

**Ravenhood** : LOL Thank you. I am glad you like it so far. ^^ Lots more to come.

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**(Three Days Later, Normal POV)**

"It's only getting worse." Sam frowned as he squeezed Mikeala's hand, staring at a map overhead. "What started out as a hundred mutated humans is now escalating close to five hundred, and _still_ climbing." Turning, he looked at his Autobot and human allies all crowded around the image. "What do we do? What _can_ we do? I mean, we've found six shards of the allspark, and they're making anyone who touches them sick, but the Autobots, but they're also not fusing together, either."

Optimus sent a small look to the others, before masking his expression with the ease of practice. _That's not exactly true. They're affecting Autobots as well._ He'd already noted an increase in Ironhide's temper, and _he_ wasn't even the bot holding them. An almost irrational blast of anger hit Optimus, and he ground his dental plates as he focused back on the mission at hand, stomping down the anger as he went.

"That's not all." Lennox frowned from his place at his wife's side, before using a laser pointer to point to a spot in Canada. "There was an outbreak of unknown origin, mutating several people in this town. Everyone was running amuck, people were killed, and it was sighted that two 'meteors' landed in the viscinity." Once he was certain he'd gotten everyone's attention, he put the laser pointer away.

Epps stood on the other side of the massive screen. "So far as we can tell, the city was busier than usual, because of an archery competition in the area. Lotsa people died, but there were survivors." He exchanged a look with Lennox, before staring right at Optimus Prime. "Survivors that told of a human girl. She was dressed as a member of the competition, in formal Japanese wear of a sort, or so I believe, and she fought with a bow and arrows, but took out a few of those monsters."

"They also said she _glowed_." Will scratched the back of his head nervously, not entirely sure what to make of this, or whether or not he believed it. "She supposedly glowed a bright blue at times, when she fired her bow, and the arrows were glowing when they hit the monsters."

"One even saw her rushing forward to stop a monster from harming a young girl. Said she just _touched_ the guy, and there was a flash of light, and he turned to dust. Then the little girl pulled something out of his pocket, which, again, glowed when the older girl touched it. Then the monsters apparently disappeared."

"That's all well and good, but it sounds like some sort of fairytale." John Keller frowned from his place at a human-sized table, where Sam, Mikeala and a few other close human allies sat.

"No." Optimus spoke up, his gaze grim. "It sounds like an ancient legend." A legend he _didn't _like the sounds of. His spark sputtered unsteadily as emotions raced through him, not the least of which was blind rage and utter terror.

"You don't think..." Ratchet's eyes had widened, even as he trailed off, deferring to Optimus.

The leader of the Autobots shook his head. "It sounds too much alike it for it not to be." _Unfortunately._

"What?" Sam looked between them, oblivious.

Sighing, Optimus gazed down at his human allies. "I fear I may know what is going on. Many millenia ago, it is believed the allspark was attacked on Cybertron. This was far before I even came into being, or our war. The legend states that the allspark was used to destroy an evil force, but instead of simply obliterating the dark energies, it absorbed them, tainting the energy of the allspark."

He looked around to the others, noting how some of the older officers looked shocked as they clearly recalled the legend, but the younglings remained confused, having never even heard of the legend before. When the war had started, there had been little to no time for history lessons and ancient legends.

"The allspark shattered into many tiny shards, travelling far and wide over the planet surface. Most of those who came into contact with the corrupt energies of any shard they found were tainted, and eventually went mad. They craved power, and killed blindly. The more shards they held, the stronger they were and the more they craved having the full cube. Medics could find no viral or physical issues to cause such a reaction, but most of these that were infected were what you'd now refer to as Decepticons. They were Cybertronians filled with doubt and anger over any number of issues."

Ratchet nodded. "We believe he shards sensed these dark spots and fed them, creating monsters out of one time friends."

"But the purer hearted became sick, and if they could overcome the sickness, they were able to purify the energies within the shards with only a touch. They travelled with others who could resist the dark auras, capturing shards, purifying them, and saving countless lives." His eyes dimmed. "I believe you could refer to them as 'priests' and 'priestesses'. The power they held was good. They were also healers."

There was no need to ask what happened if they failed to overcome the sickness. They would have either died, or been transformed into a monster.

"So what we've got here's a Cybertronian 'priestess'?" Keller looked incredulous.

"Ah, but that is the part that confuses me." Optimus turned to Lennox and Epps. "You said the survivors claimed it was a _human_ femme?" They nodded and he frowned. "It..._could_ have been a human who came into contact with the shard, although I am uncertain how her body is able to cope with the power within it. And if she has indeed found another, as the vague survivor report suggests, she would have to deal with twice that."

"It _is_ a possibility the shards could change her, somehow, for her body to accept the power." Ratchet seemed to muse out loud.

"Or it could be making her a threat." Ironhide's cannons rolled. "The shards can increase the power within a person, if they know how to access them. If she has two, and she's wanderin' around, she can find more..." He trailed off, his eyes going to the others.

"If that were the case, she would have already been changed by the first shard." Ratchet was shaking his head. "No, I believe we have ourselves a strong-willed youngling femme with a good heart. A priestess of sorts." There was a series of clicks and whirles, before he sighed. "She would be in great danger. Any others who've succumbed to the corruption in the energy _can_ sense the shards. They might not always realize it, but the femme is in danger."

"Regardless." Optimus' eyes flashed with something too quickly for even the other Autobots to pick up, and he clenched his jaw. "We need to find her. She may be the key to stopping this before it destroys this planet."

**(Kendra's POV)**

The heat was getting to be uncomfortable. It felt like a raw flame was running through my veins, and I paused, shaking my head a little to clear it and focus on the mission at hand. Glancing over my shoulder, I forced a smile, seeing Rana half curled up behind me in short jean shorts and a black t-shirt that looked to be a size too big. Upon closer inspection, I realized she was of even slighter build than me, and her eyes were dark brown, almost black.

"More?" She whispered, her eyes dark with pain.

I nodded, my smile fading. I peeked back around the corner and frowned, mentally counting over the numerous monsters shuffling around, before pulling back. "There's too many, even for me."

"You're sick." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

I sighed, pulling her to me and hugging her awkwardly. "Yeah." I could have lied to her, but she was far too observant. It didn't help she'd already witnessed so much death in her young years. "I was sick the first time, too, but I got over that. Although..." I forced a quiet chuckle. "I sincerely hope I don't have to go through this _every_ time I find one of those shards of metal."

"You could just stop picking them up."

Shaking my head, I led her back towards a department store we'd passed on our way here. "No, I couldn't. If I did, someone else would pick them up, and probably get infected, and might just end up another monster, killing others." I felt my lips tightening into a frown as we entered the store, sneaking through it towards the back, and then exiting into an alley. "Something about me seems to fight off whatever it is that's hurting others."

I had no idea what was going on. What started out as a flight for my life, turned into me watching over this girl, sick, with _two_ shards of strange metal hanging around my neck, heavily. I did realize I was...well, as strange as it sounded, 'purifying' them with my touch. Or rather, I _had,_ and now the energy in them was good, but it was still making me sick.

I led the way to a fire escape and tugged on the ladder slightly to make sure it was secure, before letting Rana climb up ahead of me and keeping an eye out for danger. I quickly followed her, pausing as I hopped onto the first platform when a dizzy spell hit me.

"You ok?"

A nod was her answer. A nod and a smile. I gestured for her to go ahead and followed her up the rest of the way.

"Why do you fight with a bow? Wouldn't a gun be easier?" She asked, her face scrunched up in confision.

Looking down at the bow I held, I pursed my lips. "I suppose so, yeah. A gun would be a lot easier. But then, a gun can also go off accidentally, and jam quite easily." I shrugged, leading the way once again. And don't get me wrong, I was more than aware I probably resembled some sort of heroine in a Japanese action flick or something. "I practiced with the bow for years, on my farm. It was peaceful and relaxing."

We climbed across ajoining roofs, and I quietly laughed again. "In all honesty? I'm fighting with a bow and arrows, because that's the weapon I had on me when all this started. I was signed up for the archery competition in town."

"My dad wanted us all to go see that." Her voice hitched.

I made a move to comfort her, before remembering the last time I'd done so. She was alright with a quick hug here and there, but didn't care to be cuddled or comforted, especially not when she learned I'd sensed something wrong with her father only weeks earlier. She didn't seem to blame me, but that was alright. I blamed myself. "I'm sorry." I whispered, feeling guilty. I knew it was absurd. It wasn't like there was a lot I could do at the time, without seeming like a thundering looney, and I didn't even know what was happening.

But that didn't mean I didn't wish I _could_ have done something.

A throbbing pain started up in my chest, and I rubbed at the spot absently, before looking forward. "We're going to have to jump the next two. Do you need a moment?" I hated the idea of resting where monsters roamed the streets below, but I couldn't force her to move if she didn't want to, and for a long moment, she looked like she really only wanted to jump down _into_ one of their gaping maws.

Finally, she shook her head. "No."

"Alright." I took the lead again, heading across roof tops, and then freezing cold.

"Um, what is that?" Rana leaned up against me, clutching at the bow that tied the waist of my haori shut. And yes, it was one of those larger-than-necessary bows. "It... It doesnt look like the other t-things."

I could feel her trembling in terror. I could feel my own heart pounding painfully in terror as well, even as I took a single step back. I tried to ignore the strange sound of metal upon metal as the form shifted and the giant creature stood upright. Finally gaining some sense, I grabbed an arrow, noting vaguely that I'd either have to get a gun or restock on arrows somewhere, and knocked it, aiming towards the creature.

It was huge. Easily far larger than any of the buildings, and it appeared to be made of metal. I lowered my bow, pushing Rana behind an upraised part of the roof we were on and then pressing against her, hiding us both and shielding her body with my own. _Arrows would be useless against a creature with _that_ thick of armor on._ The creature very vaguely resembled a giant robot, with bright glowing blue orbs where it's eyes would be, and blue and white painted armor.

"Is that-"

"Shhhh." I hissed quietly, covering her mouth as the large bot turned in our direction, it's eyes scanning the area around us. I felt a strange...connection with this bot. Like something inside was screaming I was safe, but I didn't dare let down my guard.

I felt Rana tugging at my wrist and lowered my hand.

"Police." She hissed in a whisper, pointing towards the creature's 'wings'.

Blinking, I frowned and squinted, zeroing in on what she was talking about. On the wings, printed in the traditional police cruiser style, was the word 'Police'. Then it hit me that the wings looked like car doors, and there were red and blue lights across it's chest.

Finally, after a long moment, the creature frowned. It began to change, becoming a mass of spinning and rearranging gears, even as it shifted down and disappeared from view.

"Stay here." I urged her, pleading with my eyes to listen. Then I took off, running for the edge. I reached it just as a squeal of brakes hit my ears, and leaned over, watching as a police cruiser took off down the street, carelessly mowing into the deformed creatures in it's path, and hitting a corner hard enough to rock up on two wheels, before disappearing. _Did it just turn into a _car_?!_ "What the hell was that?!"

A pain shot through me, and I shook my head, coughing a little, before it faded. I hated that each time the pain wracked me, it felt like my heart stalled briefly, skipping a couple of beats. Then every time the pain stopped, the beats came twice as fast. Something was wrong, but I couldn't tell Rana. I'd already realized it was different, just because she'd made a note of mentioning that when her father changed, he started getting angry, and doing things like stealing from them.

I had no urge to hurt her, just protect her.

"Kendra?"

Turning to look over my shoulder, I beckoned her over and we both eyed the newly cleaned street.

"You don't suppose it did that for us, do you?" She asked, trembling slightly.

I shook my head. "I don't even think it knew we were here." _Thankfully._ Clutching the necklace I wore, I heard the pieces jingling a little, before I sighed and began climbing down the fire escape, keeping an eye out for Rana as she followed me.

_What _was_ that thing? It didn't appear to be anything like the others._

* * *

**Note** : You're probably wondering why he didn't sense the allspark shards on her. I'm just going on the AU thought that they couldn't sense the shards alone. I mean look at Revenge of the Fallen, none of the Autobots knew Sam had the allspark shard until well after he found it. Well, I mean, if he knew to scan them, he'd find the shards, but he didn't, so... XD

Basically, I have it that... If they don't know what they're looking for, or scan, then they likely won't sense anything. Unless it's a _really_ big shard that even a dunce can't help but sense. XD

Also he wouldn't have heard them whispering really quietly because he's a new arrival who is still disoriented, knows next to nothing about the humans, so his sensors wouldn't know what to look or listen for, and with his attention on the strange creatures.... Basically, he didn't hear them. XD

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	5. Infected

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Two Days, Normal POV)**

Sam frowned as he watched the semi pull into the lane next to them, cutting someone off. Something wasn't right with Optimus, but he wasn't sure what it could be. "Hey, Bee? Was Optimus really close to Megatron?"

"They were enemies, Sam." Mikeala looked over from her magazine on her lap, frowning as well.

"Yeah, but they were also brothers. I saw the regret in Optimus' eyes when Megatron died. I'm just wondering...if there's a chance the death is affecting him more then he'd like to let on." Sam's frown grew as he watched the semi pull ahead, cutting someone else off as he took yet another lane, and honking back when they angrily beeped at him. "He seems...pissed."

Well actually, 'pissed' didn't even seem to cut it. With the reckless way the semi was cutting lanes, his excuse was that they had to hurry and find the legendary 'priestess', Optimus was giving 'road rage' a whole new meaning.

There was a low warble, and static as Bumblebee seemed to search what to say. But then the radio clicked off, and he vented slightly.

Sam patted the steering wheel lightly, trying to comfort his friend, even if he himself was worried sick. "Can you open an, um...internal comm link to Ratchet alone, or something?" He felt awkward asking this, not entirely sure _how_ their internal communications worked.

_**'Sir, yes sir!'**_ Came the reply. _**'Channel open, Captain.'**_

"Ratchet?"

"Yes, Sam." The voice sounded only slightly strained, which was a surprise on Sam, considering Ironhide was happily racing after Optimus, who was still speeding ahead, cutting people off. _He's probably wielding mental wrenches and tearing vital parts off his leader in his head._ He theorized with a raised eyebrow.

"What's Optimus doing? Is he ok?"

"He's just anxious to get to the shards, before anyone else is hurt." Unfortunately, his voice didn't sound as certain as he seemed to want it to.

"Keep this up and the shards won't be the only thing out there hurting people." Mikeala grumbled just loud enough for everyone to fall silent.

Then Sam had a thought. _Optimus said the corrupt shards had an effect on the mechs and femmes on Cybertron... The ones with darkness in them ending up the most corrupted. Wait, but Optimus is good... But then, he's also related to Megatron._ "Ratchet... Do you think it's possible....Optimus is being corrupted by the allspark shards he's carrying?"

Bumblebee swerved violently, causing several people to honk angrily and the humans to yell out in fear inside him, before managing to get himsefl back under control and speeding down the lane, almost right behind Optimus. The truck only slowed slightly, showing his concern, but remained quiet

"Watch it, youngling!" Ironhide snapped briefly, before static cut in, telling them he'd silenced the link again.

"Ironhide is right, Bumblebee. Be more careful!" Ratchet was on their heels, his lights flaring a moment, before darkening again. "And what in the pit could make you ask such a question, boy? He's Optimus Prime. The last living Prime and one of the kindest, most benevolant bots I've ever met!"

"So? That doesn't mean anything."

"What do you-Oh ok. Then please, explain." The anger and insult were clear in the medic's voice, and Mikeala pursed her lips as she gently laid a hand on Sam's arm, her look warning him to watch it, but her eyes shining with understanding and worry.

"I don't mean to offend you. Just listen, ok? Optimus Prime is kind and benevolant. Yeah, I agree. But he's also a living being, capable of anger and pain, and hiding it just like anyone else. He's also related to Megatron. Doesn't that make you wonder if there's ever been a part of him that he's kept hidden? A darker side?"

The link was silent, and both humans patted the dash when Bee let out a worried whine. The car's frame trembled ever so slightly, and both teens caressed the steering wheel and dash, trying to soothe him.

"I mean, he's been acting more...well, stressed since all this." _Ok, that's putting it lightly. He's acting like someone shoved one of his swords up his aft. Sideways._ "I mean, he's snapped at people, and in the first month alone I spent a lot of time with him, and he seemed capable of great understanding and compassion. Why's he suddenly snapping angrily so often, for such little things? I mean, _look_ at the way he's _driving_!! Is _that_ the Optimus Prime you know?"

He could just see the perfect bumper sticker to stick on that aft, too. _'How's my driving? Call 1-800-I'mgonnaf*kingdie!'_ Or maybe..._ 'I brake for red lights, pedestrians, and no apparent reason'._ If the situation hadn't been so dire, he might have laughed at the thought.

"Ironhide isn't much better." Mikeala put in softly. "He's been a lot more irritable than usual. I'm worried Sam might be right, about both of them. You and Bee didn't even touch the shards, and Jazz was too injured to do so himself. That means they'd be the only ones affected."

There was a sigh. "Not exactly. If what you say is true, all of us Cybertronians are affected. At least, very likely the main team. Hang on." The link went silent, and a moment later there was a tell tale tingle, making the Camaro swerve slightly. "Bumblebee is clean, but that isn't surprising. Now I understand why he was sick earlier, and here I thought he'd just caught a human viral infection from connecting to your terminals." The link went silent again.

Sam's lips twitched as his mind helpfully shoved less than decent images into his mind, of why Bumblebee would have wanted to interface with terminals. Something about that whole statement just sent his mind nose diving into the gutter, but he shook his head to clear the thoughts.

Then a silver Corvette raced along side them, and Sam turned to watch the fainted glow of a scan light travel over it. There was a flash of sirens, and Bee and Sideswipe moved apart to allow the Hummer through, the humans watching as Ratchet scanned Jolt next, the little blue Chevy Volt nearly jumping from the sensation.

It was funny to watch the Chevy jolt -no pun intended- in surprise. It was such an unusual action.

"Sideswipe and Jolt are clean as well, and Jazz is back at the base, still recovering and has been in isolation. I scanned him this morning, he's not infected. An internal scan revealed I _am_ infected, which would explain why I've felt the need to rip certain mechs into tiny pieces and weld them together backwards." The last part was a growl.

"You mean more so than usual?" Mikeala quipped with a smile.

The line was silent a moment before a slight chuckle came through. "I suppose so. I don't even need to scan Optimus or Ironhide to know they're infected, and if they are snapping more frequently then the signs are not good. That could very well mean they are slowly losing to the darkness within them."

Both teens exchanged an awkward look as they faced forward again, watching as the semi and Topkick pulled over onto the shoulder of the road some distance ahead, clearly waiting for them.

Ok, so they knew the three eldest bots were infected, two appearing to be losing the battle against the darkness within them.

...Now what?

**(Kendra's POV)**

I sighed as I parked the car in front of a small diner and got out, leaving my bow and arrows hidden under a blanket in the back seat. One look around told me this town was peaceful, and I almost regretted not paying attention to the name as we entered the city limits. I felt no tug, so I relaxed and smiled reassuringly to Rana, stretching before making my way towards the front door.

"It feels nice not to be running." She spoke quietly.

I nodded a little. "It is."

"Do you think it was just that one city?" She opened the door to the little diner and led the way in, brushing off her grey khakis. "I mean, the shards and well..." She trailed off a little as we stood in line.

"I don't know. _Seems_ calm enough here." I tugged my jacket closer to my body, thankful for the fact my car was in town. We'd made our way back to it, and then headed to her house to pick up her ID and some clothing, before heading to my house. We'd only had a few more run ins with the monsters, but I simply ran them over or swerved around them as we fled. I'd wanted nothing more than to curl up, when we got to my house.

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay there. I was low on food as it was, and it was out in the middle of nowhere. We might be safe, but for how long? We didn't know what was going on, so we both decided it was probably best to travel to another city, to see just _how_ far the panic and chaos went.

We each made our order, a sandwich and a drink, before finding a lone table in the far corner of the diner. Sitting down, we ate in heavy silence, both weighing out what we'd witnessed in the last few days. It was shortly after we finished eating, I broke the silence.

"Do you have any family you can stay with? Grandparents? Aunts or Uncles? Cousins, even?"

Rana frowned and swirled her drink in the cup. "You wanna get rid of me that bad?" I could see she was trying for a joke, but there was a hitch in her voice that belied her true meaning.

I frowned. "No, but I wanna search around. I wanna see if I can get some answers, and it might be dangerous. You don't even like weapons." Tilting my head a little, I brushed a pig tail braid over my shoulder. "I just wanna make sure you're safe before I go anywhere."

"I don't really _have_ anywhere to go. Grandparents passed on years ago. Have no Uncles or Aunts, my mom was an only child and my dad barely ever spoke to his family, and that was a year or so ago."

_That's not good._ I couldn't very well take a child with me, especially if any other towns were remotely like my home. What if we ran into more trouble? Could I protect us both? I didn't even really _want_ to take her with me. Again, dangers. Not to mention I knew next to nothing about her, or how to take care of a preteen...

"I can fight. Mom taught me martial arts when I was little." She shrugged a little.

_You're still little, honey. _"Against deformed monsters?" I looked around, making sure no one would hear me. After all, we weren't even sure if there were any other survivors, and if we went to the police, chances were they'd stick us in padded cells of tag me with kidnapping charges, before they listened. "Giant robots?" _This has gotta be something outta a horror movie. Things like this just _don't_ happen._

"It's something."

I sighed heavily, taking a long sip of my drink, before hesitantly nodding. _Something. Not much, but...something. It's better than nothing, I guess._ "Alright. You're right, it's something. If you really wanna come with me, I can't say I'm happy. Like I said, it's gonna be dangerous, but I can't stop you." Looking up, I glanced out the window, my eyes dancing over and past my car. I tried to ignore the fact that seeing auras was becoming a constant for me, even as I watched people with varying colored auras walk past the window.

Then I spotted a familiar form, and heard the gasp I failed to stop from slipping past my lips. "That car again."

"What??"

My eyes shot to Rana as she looked, her already pale complexion paling even more. "I don't recognize any car out there but yours."

"You weren't at the edge." I might not have felt so suspicious, if the car wasn't wearing our town name on it's logo, on the side of the car. It didn't belong in this town, so why was it parked behind my car? "The police car. Remember, the robot?" I swallowed heavily, tearing my eyes from the car. "C'mon, lets get outta here. We still need to check out a few other towns to see how far the panic's gone." Excuses, excuses, but that car both drew me in and frightened me, and I just wanted out of there.

She nodded, almost absently, as she followed my lead and stood. Her face had paled slightly, and her eyes seemed locked on the cop car behind mine, before she visibly tore them away. We tossed our trash and headed to the door, me stubbornly refusing to aknowledge the cruiser anymore than I already had.

Too bad the driver of the cruiser didn't feel the same.

"Miss Morgan. Miss Greyson."

The deep voice had me freezing cold, different keys of my key ring slipping between my fingers and sticking out. Looking over, I watched as a man, probably in his late-thirties to mid-fourties, stepped out of the car and walked over. He wore the usual police uniform, but as he approached, I noticed his badge had a strange...face-like design in the center, and the name tag said 'Prowl'.

_Weird name_. I thought as I turned to look at him more closely.

He had a long, lean frame, short black hair and a black bushy mustache. His eyes were covered by sunglasses, so I couldn't figure out his expression, but once again I felt the sense that I could trust him. Which I obviously _didn't_ trust.

Then it hit me, and I gasped again, stepping back.

"Kendra?" Rana's voice was small.

The man seemed to frown deeply, pausing by the hood of his car. That's not what got me. What frightened me badly enough to shakily step back again was the fact that the _man_ had no aura. He was blank, like there was no soul for the aura to come from. The _car_ on the other hand... It's aura was light blue-grey.

"You're not human." I spoke clearly, but louder than I'd intended to. "Rana, get in the car." I handed her the keys, as I carefully stepped towards the back trunk of my car, keeping my eyes on him. "Look, just stay away from us, you....you..._whatever_ you are! Leave us alone!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He pulled off his sunglasses, showing incredibly bright blue eyes, mostly emotionless, but showing a hint of kindness and sympathy. "If you leave, I will simply follow you. I do not require the same recharge cycles and nutrition you do."

In other words, there was no getting this ass off our asses.

"What do you want?" I swallowed heavily, by this point at the other side of my trunk. I walked back two steps and pulled up on the handle of the back door, almost sagging in relief when the door opened. _Thank you, Rana! _Then I reached in, my eyes still not leaving his. Fiddling with the blanket, I slipped my hand underneath.

"You have allspark radiation within you, and my scans indicate you carry what appear to be two _pieces_ of it." His eyes darkened. "How did the allspark get broken, and how is it a human has come across these shards?"

"Shards...? Allspark...?" I frowned, slowly and hesitantly reaching back up, though my fingers remained clenched around the arrow I'd pulled from the quiver. "What're you talking about?" I felt a strange tingle run through me and stiffened.

He seemed to hesitate. "You are carrying two fragments of metal around your throat." It wasn't a question. When my hand came up, almost reflexively, he nodded. "Those are shards of a cube of power that came from our home world."

_Home 'world'?!?_

"We followed it here, but I intercepted a message from my leader that it was gone. Nothing more." His frown grew. "Which was strange. When I entered the planet's atmosphere, my internal and long range communications, as well as my locator beacon were heavily damaged. I cannot send word to my people to let them know I'm here."

_And that has...._what_ to do with me? _"I don't understand." I admitted quietly. "I found one shard in my yard, it almost landed _on_ me that day. Then another one when our city was overrun by...deformed..._things_. One was her father." I gestured with my head towards the girl. "She has no other family so she's travelling with me-" _Rambling..._ "-but my point is she showed me this shard on him, and I took it from her." I pointedly left _out_ the ability to purify it's energy, if that's what I was doing. At least until I knew better if I could trust him.

His eyes seemed to narrow. "Then I shall remain with you for the time being."

"Wait, what?!" I shook my head. "Oh, no way! I don't even know who or _what_ you are!"

"My designation is Autobot Prowl, Second in Command and Chief of Security."

Thus the cruiser form, I supposed.

"And I must insist. You will be in danger from more than...deformed...'beings' as long as you carry those shards, but if the energy is within you, then you must have been chosen for a reason. I will follow you, if you will not allow me to join you."

I pursed my lips, frowning a little. "You owe me answers. I wanna know all about what you are, and why you're here, and this damned allspark which has killed so many people. I wanna know it all." He seemed to hesitate, and I raised an eyebrow challengingly. Finally, he nodded, and I nodded back. "Fine. Autobot Prowl, you may accompany us."

Turning, I climbed into the car and began to at least _try_ and explain to the young girl I was with, why we were being followed by an alien law enforcement officer. While I didn't necessarily trust him, I could admit I felt safer with him there with us.

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	6. Fear

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : Ok, so I've had mentions that something seems to be missing in Kendra's part of the story. I'm really not sure what it could be. I've also had mentions that Kendra doesn't react the same way as Kagome in some situations. I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but Kendra is not Kagome. Not at all. She plays the role, so to speak, but she's really just a random OC girl brought into the Transformers world.

She does not have perfect control of her powers, even later in the fiction, and using them tends to weaken her, yes. I don't want her to have perfect control and limitless power because then she strays dangerously close to the Mary-Sue line.

Mainly, Kendra is _not_ Kagome. I just want people to know that. She has Kagome-like qualities, which will make themselves known as the story goes, but she really is her own person, even if I leaned a little too heavily on 'Bella' when creating her. -.-'

* * *

**(Next Day, Normal POV)**

"What're we gonna do?" Sam looked at Mikeala, in his arms, to where Bumblebee, Jolt and Sideswipe stood across from them. "Ratchet's effectively wiped his own mind of our conversation, because he was afraid he _might_ end up turning on us. That just leaves us. How can we help them?"

"_We_ can't." Jolt sighed heavily. "As long as one of them holds corrupted shards, they will always be at risk of the darkness coming back on them. Even if we could stop them this time, we still need to find the priestess to purify the shards."

"But I heard if she purifies a corrupted soul, there's a good chance she could kill the person, like she did with that monster?" Mikeala frowned, tapping Sam's hands lightly when he stiffened up behind her. "Won't she kill them?"

"I am...not sure. I believe it's only when the soul is completely corrupted that they cannot be saved. I believe both Ratchet and Ironhide have a good chance of overcoming this, despite Ratchet's worry." Jolt looked to the others. "Once they do, they simply need to refrain from touching the metal again to keep from getting infected again. Optimus, on the other hand..."

Basically, the shards emitted energy that could effect those around it given time. If the victims came into physical contact, it was that much more powerful, and the larger the darkness within them, the faster and stronger it worked.

"He's in the most danger." Sam stared blankly at his girlfriend's shoulder. "He's _carrying_ the corrupted shards."

"Precisely. I believe our best bet to save him, is to find the femme and have her purify the shards. If we can do that, his own inner light should win out over the darkness. But we have to hurry, or the darkness will overwhelm him completely, and the Optimus we know will be lost forever."

"So where do we even begin to look?" Will was frowning. "The local Canadian military searched the town top to bottom, and any survivors they didn't find are long gone. The Sec-Def pulled strings to get us into Canada, but we don't even know where to begin looking."

"We need to begin at their home town, and try to find a lead, and we need to move fast." Jolt's eyes cut over.

Following his gaze, Sam frowned, watching as Optimus seemed to tower over Ratchet angrily, before backing off, an apologetic look coming to his eyes as he shook his head.

"Can't someone else take the shards? At least for a little while? To allow Optimus to recover?" His eyes shot to the bots as they seemed to consider it. Something hit him then, and he frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing. Very slowly, he leaned down to whisper into Mikeala's ear softly, while they spoke in their garbled whistles and clicks to each other. "Have their eyes always been that dark?" Sure I knew their eyes, or optics, or whatever, were usually varying shades of blue, but they seemed...darker.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her own eyes darting over them, and then saw the very subtle shake of her head as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, worried. Leaning in, she nudged the side of his head with her forehead. "So much for not being infected." She whispered quietly, concern lacing her voice.

_Must have happened recently._ Sam's eyes narrowed even more. _So if they're infected, why don't I feel any different? Huh, maybe it's only a matter of time..._ A shudder stole through his body as he swallowed nervously, and he wrapped his arms tightly around Mikeala, linking his fingers with hers.

Jolt then sighed and shook his head. "That isn't wise. The shards will only effect their new holder, who may not be as strong willed. Even if you constantly passed the shards around, you never know when one mech will buckle under the pressure, giving in to the hate and pain."

"I don't like this." Sideswipe commented darkly. Bee whistled slightly and waved an arm, and Sides rolled his eyes. "Ok, ok. _We_ don't like this."

"No." Mikeala looked among the humans to see they all felt about the same. "We really don't."

"We need to find that priestess."

**(Kendra's POV)**

"And _why_ again don't you want to hold the shards?" I raised an eyebrow from where I sat, perched on the roof of a building. I stared, admittedly awkwardly, at the giant blue 'eyes' of the Autobot before me. Rana was sitting next to me, leaning on me a little whenever he leaned in close. I had to admit that the feeling of trust I felt towards him only grew stronger. At first I thought he just wanted the shards, but he quickly declined when I asked, as a test.

There was something about him. Something..._good..._and true.

"From what I gather, this is all very similar to that legend I told you about." He responded quietly, his eyes darting around, obviously keeping an eye out for anyone who might walk into us. "They can corrupt my logical nature and create a monster out of me."

"Uhm, you said that would... But I purified these." I frowned, shuddering as I recalled his story and feeling utter disbelief course through me. _Me? Their equivalent of a 'priestess'? Wow, I _feel_ like I'm in a facking ancient Japenses fiction. Complete with wardrobe._

He frowned a long moment. "I suppose then the power would have no negative effect on me, but again, as you explained, the allspark has chosen you to receive it's powers. If that is the case, it is best if _you_ are the one to hold the shards." His door-wing-things seemed to shift a little, as his eyes once again darted around.

"Ok...I guess. But what else can I do?" I was pulling uncomfortably on my skirt, once again in my blue haori. Don't get me wrong, but it already had catches in the fabric, and showed signs of seeing battle. I just wanted to perserve the good clothes I had with me, since I only had a couple of pairs, and 'Prowl' suggested he could sense dark energy signals in this town.

Which I agreed to. I didn't need to keep an eye out. The hair on the back of my neck was practically standing up all by itself from the darkness surrounding us, and eerie, inhuman cries echoed down the empty streets from the night blackened alleys.

"All we can do is keep looking for the shards." He suddenly frowned. "Or we could head towards Tranquility Nevada, where I was informed many allies to the Autobots resided. If we could get close, my short range locator beacon should be able to alert them."

"What about these Decepti-guys?"

"My beacon is on a secure Autobot frequency. Decepticons will not be able to intercept it."

"This is a lot to take in." Rana sighed. "Just a few days ago, I thought my dad was losing his mind. Now I find out corrupted energies in alien metal mutated him into a monster, he and my mom are _dead_, and we're chatting with a giant alien robot about quite possibly the end of the world."

"No." I shot a look at her. "We won't let it come to that." Turning back to Prowl, I sighed. "I can...sense...._something_. We should check it out. Then we'll head for the border." _Why the hell am I involving myself in this? It isn't my fight... Except I'm their 'priestess', so I guess it is...kinda. _Suddenly my eyes widened. "Oh, hell! I forgot! Rana's too young to cross the border without her parents!"

"I can assume the form of her mech creator-" I was pretty certain our gazes were fairly blank, because he blinked and cleared his throat slightly. "'Father' to get her across."

Looking to Rana, I saw her wince. "Why don't we figure this out later? Right now we've got monsters to hunt down." I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath through my nose and letting it out through my mouth, before opening my eyes and gazing up at Prowl. "Can I get a lift to the ground, please?"

He nodded and raised his hands. "Humans are so unbelievably small and frail. I find it astounding your race has survived this long."

"Gee. Thanks." I muttered sarcastically, moving to lean on his wrist, as Rana crawled onto his fingers, hanging half on them. "Just because you're like twenty feet tall-"

"Twenty-one point three feet tall."

"Riiiight." I nodded and climbed off his hand. "Just because your huge, doesn't mean we're as helpless as we look to you." Shrugging, I turned to Rana. "Come on, we should go." I heard the clanks and clicks of Prowl transforming and led Rana out of the alley. Prowl would follow us in his alternate form thingy of a police cruiser, with his apparently holographic self driving, so as to draw as little unwanted attention as possible.

Yeah, because two girls who'd obviously seen better days, being followed by a police cruiser, would _not_ draw attention. Note the sarcasm?

He was definitely one lucky bot, too. If he hadn't thought to scan all humans that passed him when Rana and I were on our way out of town -and incidentally passed him without realizing it- he never would have realized I was wearing two of their 'allspark' shards around my neck.

Hearing the sudden stop of the car behind us, I looked over my shoulder and frowned. "Something's up. Hang here for a sec." I jogged the few feet back to the car and moved to the window, even as it rolled down. "What's up?"

"I sense an unidentified presence in the area. If they are enemies and realize you have the shards, my assistance will only go so far." He was frowning deeply. "Logic dictates I'll have to distract them."

"They'll _kill_ you." I pointed out, feeling a cold feeling of dread washing over me.

"If I am damaged, you can heal me." He seemed to pause. "If that is your wish."

_No, of course not. I prefer to watch you suffer._ I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the sarcastic thoughts rolling through my mind._ Wait... _"I don't even know how!" I yelped, wincing and cringing down when my voice echoed down the empty, dark street, and Rana raised an eyebrow in our direction. "I mean, I barely know how to sense these shards. I'm not all that perfect on focusing my aura unless I can concentrate, so I don't even know if purifying these mutants will work all the time. And you're only just _now_ telling me I can heal."

"You simply concentrate, focusing your aura at the damaged area with the will to heal it."

"You make it sound _so_ simple. I still think you should take the shards for yourself."

He shook his head. "I need to-"

"Yeah yeah." I sighed. "I get it. You need to distract the newcomer. I understand. I don't _like_ it, but I understand."

"My mission is to distract them only, and lead them away. I have no intentions to engage other than to protect myself if they attempt to ambush me." His eyes flickered to Rana. "So young. Someone needs to remain and care for the sparkling. You will protect her and find the shard."

_What the hell is a sparkling??_ I glanced over at Rana, and raised an eyebrow. _Yet another question to add to the 'stupid shit to ask' list._

There was a hint of inquisition, and I nodded slowly, before pulling back. "You'd better come back though, or I'll be finding out pretty damn quick whether or not I can resurrect as well as heal." I glared briefly, before grabbing the small backpack out of his back seat and stepping back. "Hurry back, Prowl." I didn't like how vulnerable I felt without him, even if something told me it wasn't entirely _me_ that felt that way.

As he pulled back, I turned and wandered over to Rana, handing over the backpack, since I had a quiver of arrows on my back. "There's trouble. He's gone to take care of it." I nodded towards the street. "C'mon, we'd better keep going."

She didn't look like she much liked the idea of splitting up, either, but we didn't have much of a choice. I guess in our short time together, the idea of a giant ass alien robot _protecting_ us had sort of...well...grown on us. We walked down the dark empty street, eyes darting over the different buildings and I'm sure we both felt relieved to see the buildings were more or less intact. There was no real signs of trouble here, but for the occasional inhuman yell or shout, and the dark auras in the place.

"It's cold here." Rana whispered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. She was in a black tank top with a jean jacket over it, and slim fitting black jeans. Not a cool outfit in the summers here, but there was something about this place... "I don't like this."

I nodded, shivering as well. "It's not cold. You're sensing darkness. Evil, death. It's dread." I unslung my bow, sensing a dark aura moving in an alley about fifteen feet ahead of us, and knocking an arrow. I kept my bow lowered to the ground though as I moved forward, just ahead of Rana. "Stay back." It was a whisper, even as I slowly lifted the bow.

A dog came stumbling out of the alley.

At least, I _think_ it was a dog.

"What the hell?" I kept my voice low, but still sucked in a sharp breath when it's head..s...whipped towards me. It was gaunt, skin and bone. Literally. Parts of the flesh were practically dripping off yellowed bone, and it's eyes were a blood thirsty red, even as it growled lowly and took a step in our direction. It's teeth, from my weak vantage point, seemed like there were two sets. Well, it just looked like there were a _lot_ more teeth in that mouth than there should have been. "Rana, hide." I stepped back, my heart beginning to pound as it growled again, a sickly gurgling sound.

I pulled the arrow back further, feeling my power seeping into it, warming the arrow and bow in my hands as I stared at the dog. "Good boy." I tried to calm it, even as it took another menacing step in our direction. "Stay. Sit!" It sprang, and I unleashed my arrow.

...Which missed.

"Oh shit!" I cursed, stepping back quickly, several times, even as I reached back and grabbed another arrow, knocking that one, taking quick aim and shooting again. This one got the dog in the chest, but missed it's black heart, and I winced as it's blackened aura pressed against my blue one. I tried to step back again, keeping my eyes on the dog, even as it shook, and stood up, ignoring the arrow sticking out of it's chest, but my back pressed against cold, unforgiving brick.

One quick glance told me Rana was out of sight at least. Turning back, I screamed, ducking at the last minute and dashing forward, even as the dog sailed over my head, crashing into the brick wall head first.

Spinning on my feet, I grabbed another arrow, but didn't bother knocking it. I watched as the dog slid down the wall, blood and brain matter splattered all over the place, and gagged a little as it just lay there, it's one foot twitching a little, before lying still. _Wow, that had to hurt._ I was in shock at how easily it went down. I could _see_ it's aura die with it, and I shook my head, closing my eyes a moment before reopening them and putting my arrow away. I walked back over, and hesitantly reached down, grabbing the arrow sticking out of it's chest, before retracing it's steps and grabbing the first arrow I'd shot.

"Kendra?"

Turning, I watched as Rana's head stuck out around a corner. Seeing the dog dead, she grimaced, before rushing to my side.

"I suppose even animals have darkness in their hearts." I muttered quietly. "That or someone out there's managed to harness at least a portion of their shard's power and just..._changed_ it."

"That's not good. Let's just hope it's the first option." I shot her an incredulous look and she shrugged. "If it's the first, there'll only be so many dogs. If it's the second, then this person-err, _thing_ can create as many as they want."

A shudder ripped through my frame, and I put the arrows away, feeling the tingling in me when I realized I only had about a dozen arrows left. My quiver _had_ been stuffed full, considering I brought extras for practice time. "Come." I walked down the street on full alert, my mind jumping over numerous things, from Prowl, to how this all started, to 'why me', to what was coming next... I began to wonder if any of us really had any hope of living through it.

But I knew I didn't have a choice.

I had to try. If I didn't, countless more people would die. Even if I was afraid, I couldn't give up.

* * *

**Note** : I do not know their heights, so I'm more or less making it up as I go.

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	7. What Now?

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

"I still think we should find a way to get the shards off Optimus." Sam whispered into Mikeala's ear from their room in the hotel. She cuddled into his hold, more for the sheer sense of safety he gave off than anything. _But who'll hold them? Who'll risk their humanity?_ "I could..."

Shaking her head, she watched as Epps and Will talked quietly across the room, both comforted in the knowledge two trained soldiers would be nearby if they ran into trouble, and embarrassed that they all decided to share a room, for safety. "How? He's a giant alien robot, and both Ironhide and Ratchet would probably run interference. Not to mention, you'd put yourself at risk of getting infected." She slapped his chest in scolding, before shuddering a little at the thought of a darker, evil, deformed Sam running around.

She curled up around his arms more, refusing to let him go.

"I can ask to see them, and grab them when he's not looking. I mean, they're tiny compared to the cube as a whole, so I should be able to hide them easily." He sighed. "And isn't it better to have a human go crazy than a giant alien robot? One that _commands_ _other_ giant alien robots?" _Though I'll have to run like hell or he'll try to get them back._ He was suddenly struck by a mental image of Optimus Prime holding him upside down by the ankle and shaking him until the shards fell out of his pocket. The picture was frightening, but also a little funny, and he couldn't help the grin that quickly crossed his features, before he forced it away.

There was a long moment of hesitation. Mikeala obviously didn't want to agree with him, but she couldn't argue his logic. As long as the Autobots were at risk of turning into Decepti-clones, their entire planet would be at risk, and she knew it. Still... "Why _you_? Why not some random person walking by?"

"Would you take a stranger from their family? Possibly destroy their world? I can't ask that of someone else."

She clutched at her chest as her heart beat painfully, glad no one could see her from the way she was curled up against him. "You've already saved the world Sam." She was pleading, and she hated to plead, but Sam... Sam was worth it.

"Yeah. I stuck the cube in Megatron's chest, and _created_ this mess. I might have saved the world, but I also put it right back in danger again. Besides, then I had the thought of 'Better him than you' when I did what I did. I knew it'd kill Megatron and I wanted him dead more than Optimus. Now I have 'Better me than you' stuck in my head. Like I said, I wouldn't be nearly as big of a risk to the planet, if I went evil."

"Sam..."

"We don't have a choice. You've seen it. He's slowly losing the battle. Ironhide and Ratchet are both getting better, but he's only getting worse, and he's even _stronger_ then them." Shifting, Sam sat up and turned to look into Mikeala's eyes. "We have to do _something_, right? We lose Optimus, we lose the war on so many fronts."

"What're you two talking about?" Will wandered over, with Epps on his heel. The question was innocent enough, but the look on both their faces had him suspicious, which he was certain his own face showed. "Ok, what's going on?"

"I have to go."

"No, Sam-"

"I don't have a choice, Mikeala." Sam grabbed the sides of her head gently even though his tone was intense, smiling a little and leaning in for a kiss. "Lets just hope we find the priestess soon, ok?" Resting his head against hers he sighed. "I have to do this. Please, let me try."

She closed her eyes, a single tear trailing down her cheek. "I'm gonna stay with you, you know. No matter what." She smiled softly, her eyes shining with determination.

"What the hell are you two planning?" Will's voice began to rise a little.

Standing up slowly, Sam turned to him, his expression dim but his face white as a sheet. "I'm going to try and save him." Was all he said, but the two soldiers' eyes widened in horror at the news, suddenly getting what was going on. "I'm a soldier now, remember?" Sam patted Will's shoulder. "If I fail... If anything happens to me, tell..." He trailed off, smiling shakily. "No, never mind. I'm not gonna fail."

Will opened and closed his mouth several times, shock and disbelief coursing through him. He wanted to tell the kid he was insane, stop him in some way, but he knew Sam had to make his own choice. And honestly, he knew what the kid was feeling and thinking. He, too, had thought about taking the shards. "I'd do it, but..." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I've seen and caused so much death."

"It's ok. You're still you. You still love your country and your family." Sam smiled a little. "I can do this. Let me?"

Everyone seemed to hesitate. The soldiers because they'd both offer, but they weren't strong enough. They knew the risk and they both knew they had more darkness in their hearts than the teenagers, which lowered their chances of succeeding. None of the men would allow Mikeala, and she was honestly too afraid to ask, insecure about her ability to succeed.

That only left one out of the four of them, and they all watched in pain, silent as Sam made his way to the door, steeled himself, and walked out it.

_Please be ok._ Mikeala prayed, her eyes remaining on the door for some time, even as she felt tears coursing down her cheeks.

**(Kendra's POV)**

"Damn it!"

Ducking, I glared at the creature before me, before swinging my bow around and knocking one monster down with the wooden side. I then reached out, hissing when I only harmed the mutant, before he was pulling away. A sharp pain lanced up my back, and I cried out as I stumbled forward, rolling across another monster's back, and grabbing the shaft of one of my few arrows left, stabbing it into the monster's chest and hearing it scream, disintegrating from the wound.

"Freaking, stupid-Whoa!"

Rana ducked under a blow of her own, before punching one creature and running a few feet away from three others.

"Less bitching! More fighting!" Even as I scraped another monster with my arrow, the energy nearly blinding as it knocked the creature out, I winced and mentally cursed myself for swearing in front of a pre-teen. _Then again, she's already witnessed more than any other kid out there._ Still, I didn't need to contribute to it.

Something hit my hand, hard, sending hot pain up it and my arrow flying. Then I felt arms grab my wrists.

"Yes, take the priestess." The voice was deep and creepy. While he didn't have the same snake-like hiss as the other monster, his voice was no less creepy. Low, smooth, intense and full of evil intent. "And kill the girl."

_Kill the-_ "No!" I kicked out, catching one of the monsters, before spinning awkwardly so that my arms were crossed and I was facing the other direction. I used the new angle to pull the monsters together, hard, focusing my energy as I did so, and I watched triumphantly as they crashed together, smoking and glowing, before sinking unmoving to the ground. Then I spun. "Rana!"

Monsters surrounded her, one grabbing at her arm, and another grabbing at her waist. I looked around frantically, trying to find my bow, even as I grasped another arrow from my quiver, grimacing to realize it was the last one. Running forward, I stabbed one monster in the back, spinning and whipping the arrow free to stab another in the side. They both collapsed, smoking and screaming, but still alive.

I grabbed Rana by the arm, pulling her to me, even as I concentrated and stabbed another, watching the glowing arrow sink into it's throat with ease and it collapsed. _There's too many!_ I practically felt the energy crackling at my fingertips, and it flowed into Rana, who winced and pulled her hand away. I winced as well, shooting her an apologetic look.

I'd found out quickly after realizing a little about my powers that to other humans it could be painful, but it seemed to bother 'Autobots' in another way. Prowl never _did_ explain that, though he made me promise to never test my powers on him again.

I pressed Rana behind me, my eyes darting around all the monsters closing in. Then I heard the powerful rev of an engine, my eyes widening as a car whipped down the street. "Prowl?!" I called hopefully, focusing and pressing a hand against a monster's chest, watching as it smoked and collapsed to the ground, the deformities seeming to leave it. I watched, fascinated, as it changed back into a human. _Wow, so I don't only kill people?_ Well, that was good news.

The car whipped closer, and looking up, I felt my eyes widen. _It's gonna run us down!_ And it hadn't responded in any way to my call, and this one had a different aura, though it was still light. "Rana, move!" I pulled her out from behind me, dashing through the confused monsters and into an alley, just as the car shot through, swerving around the unconscious human and taking out about eight monsters. I felt horrible about leaving the person in the street, but I had Rana who just _stood_ in shock, and I couldn't _carry_ the person... My eyes followed the red tail lights, even as the car fishtailed around and screeched to a stop. _I'd say learn how to drive, but... _In this case, their carelessness actually helped me.

For a split moment, my eyes flowed over the car, struck by the sheer beauty of the sleek form. Then I took in that the leader of the monsters was distracted and free. Leaning in to Rana, I took a deep breath. "Stay here." I grasped at her shoulders a moment, before handing her the bloody arrow and running off.

"Ke-"

She cut herself off, though I knew she was safe. I ignored her, focusing on the monster as I raced forward. Just as I reached him, his eyes shot to me, and he smirked. The smirk didn't last long, however. I took the last of my strength, focusing all my remaining power into my fingertips and then reaching out, grasping him around the neck. Everything faded, as I felt my eyes lock on his, seeing it as they widened, lightening to the brightest glowing blue I'd ever seen, then noticing his scream, his hands scratching at my arm and drawing blood.

The pain meant nothing. I reached forward with my other hand, snatching the shard glowing in his shoulder, and feeling the heat that came with the purification, before sagging to my knees as the creature before me disintegrated, panting.

My eyes darted around as I clutched the newest piece of metal in my hand, marvelling at how something maybe an inch in length -all the shards were remarkably small- could possibly cause so much trouble. All the other monsters either transformed back into humans, who collapsed on the spot, or they turned to dust, being blown away on the wind.

Garbled whirls and clicks sounded, and I turned to find the same strange vehicle watching us. I suddenly felt nervous, biting my lip as I forced myself to my feet, closing my eyes as a wave of dizziness hit me. Once I was steady, I went around gathering what was left of my arrows, making a mental note to stop off and gather more at the next possible moment, my eyes never leaving the strange vehicle.

It was when I unhooked my necklace, placing the third shard onto the string and refastening it again, that the clicks and whistles sounded again, and I looked up.

The car was still sitting there, but the engine was gunning angrily.

"What? What do you want?" I felt the same sense of a bond, but ignored it considering this vehicle was acting more aggressive than Prowl ever had, and he mentioned the fact that these 'Decepticons' were able to disguise themselves as vehicles, as well. "Look, we're leaving, ok?" My eyes caught the few humans that survived, and I felt a little relief, knowing this city was safe, now.

That is...unless the vehicle saw fit to run them down, but somehow I didn't think it would. For one thing, it's aura spoke volumes about it. Another, it seemed far more interested in _me_ than the unconscious civilians on the street.

I placed the arrows back in the quiver, standing slowly and glancing at Rana, sighing in relief to see that other than a few bruises, she was safe. The engine revved, and the feeling of nervousness inside me only grew. I began walking towards her, holding out my hand and bracing it on her shoulder to steer her back to the alley. The alley that was too narrow for the car to fit down.

A loud series of clicks and whistles sounded and the car shot forward a foot.

But a foot was more than enough.

"Run!" I yelled, grabbing her hand and racing to the alley. I heard gears shifting behind me, but I ran down the alley, leading Rana. We ran out the other side and took off down the dark streets, crying out at the sound of an enraged cry. I spun down another street and then down another alley. I led Rana further and further, until I was gasping with breath, and we had to hide behind a dumpster, too exhausted to move another inch.

"Was that...another...Autobot? Why'd...we run?" Rana panted heavily, her eyes wide and darting around.

"I dunno. It wasn't Prowl, that's for sure, and it seemed a lot more...aggressive." I shuddered and gasped heavily, trying to force my breathing to slow with deep, even breaths.

"I got that...it wasn't Prowl." Her breathing was straightening out. "Since when would he...change into a yellow Corvette? Nice car though." She chuckled a little, shaking her head with a look of disbelief. "A freaking _Corvette_! What's next? A cherry red Lamborghini??"

I couldn't help but laugh, even as I shook my own head. _A preteen with a thing for cars._ The girl really never ceased to amaze me. Finally straightening up, I dared a peek around the edge of the alley, and ducked back in again when I saw the yellow frame barreling our way down the street, lights shining brightly and engine snarling. "Damn it, it's still on our heels!" Turning, I pointed quietly up towards the fire escape, and we quickly ascended it, before running across multiple joined roofs and down the far side.

After what felt like hours, we'd made our way into the busier section of the city, but luckily even here it was quieter, because of the time. I watched as Rana adjusted the backpack on her back, and was about to offer to take it, when a honk sounded.

"Oh crap." I grabbed her hand, pulling her closer as we walked, and not daring a look back. There were no other cars on the street, and I didn't want to stand out even _more_ to who or what ever was following us.

A car pulled up next to us, and I nearly sagged in relief when a glance out of the corner of my eye told me it was a cruiser. Turning, I smiled and did sag, against the edge of the front windshield and door, even as Prowl raised a holographic eyebrow. "Sorry. I'm _so_ glad to see you!" I straightened even as his frown deepened. "We had a little trouble, but..." I pulled the necklace out of the edge of my dress collar and showed him the three shards jingling against each other.

He nodded, but the frown never left his face. "The other signal is still nearby, I should continue my investigation."

"We ran into it." I admitted, wrapping an arm around Rana as she leaned against me tiredly.

The other eyebrow slowly rose before both of his eyes narrowed. "It didn't transform or try to capture you?" When we shook our heads -althought the belated thought that it _had_ transformed rushed through my mind- he nodded almost absently. "Then it was most likely an Autobot."

"A friend? You mean we just ran for our lives, across half the freaking town, for _nothing_??" Eyes wide, the twelve year old girl sighed and groaned, before hopping into the backseat and practically curling up there.

Prowl's holo-eyes followed her movements, almost in concern, before they seemed to soften. It was difficult to determine, but what his face masked with ease, his eyes gave away every time. Turning to me, he seemed to eye me a moment as I put the necklace away, before sighing himself. "We shall check it out, but for now-" My body tingled abnormally a moment, before it faded.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." I muttered, straightening. "And I need to get more arrows. Like, I _really_ need more." I unslung my bow and quiver before turning and walking around the car, hopping into the passenger seat and resting my things across the dash board. Luckily, Prowl didn't mind, as he could see through sensors all over his body, and not his holo-eyes.

"You are exhausted."

I nearly squeaked when the seat I was sitting in reclined on it's own. _I wish you wouldn't do that, either._ I thought darkly, before nodding and letting my eyes close. _Rana..._ My eyes opened again, and I glanced back only to smile, seeing the backpack on the floor behind the driver's seat, and Rana curled up, deep asleep.

It was amazing how well she could sleep after something like that, but after the first little while, the nightmares seemed to fade in and out for us both. Some nights we slept well, and some we spent screaming and waking in a non-stop loop.

"You did well."

The words were spoken with no emotion, but I smiled exhaustedly anyways. "Thanks." Leaning back, I allowed my eyes to drift shut, drifting off into a dreamless sleep, even as Prowl attempted to locate the nameless Autobot's signal.

_I sincerely hope he's right about this other car._

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**Note** : The shard tally is more for my memory, so I can keep an idea of where they are and how they're progressing as I write, so you'll probably see that a lot at the end of the chapters. Don't mind it.

Oh, and who can tell me who the bot they'd just seen was? XD

**Shard Tally** :

Good Guys = 3

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	8. Changing

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Two Days Later, Normal POV)**

Wincing, Sam rubbed at the back of his head, where a headache seemed to have settled in, refusing to leave. "Look, I can't come back and you know that." He sighed, struggling to beat down the annoyance that kept threatening to creep up on him. "Mikeala-"

"Stop it, Sam! You're being ridiculous and you know it." Her voice was tense, but she sounded more fearful than angry. "Optimus isn't angry, but we're _all_ terrified for you. Even if we found the priestess, how can she help you if you're not with us?"

He hesitated, seeing her point, but he could _feel_ the corrupted energies in the six shards in his pants pocket, and he frowned. His eyes darted around to the clueless people on the street, even as he pressed himself into the corner of the phone booth. He'd opted out of using his cell phone, simply because he knew they'd be able to track it in less than thirty seconds.

"Mikeala..." Sighing heavily, Sam closed his eyes, struggling to ignore the heaviness in his heart. "I.... I'm nineteen and have all my paper work. I can get to Canada-"

"How?" She demanded harshly. "The Sec-Def pulled strings for us all to go _together_. How are you gonna afford a car and cross the border? You'll also need money to get into a hotel."

_If I had Bumblebee, a car and hotel wouldn't be a problem._ More irritation filled the teen boy's frame, and he felt himself stiffening up. On one hand, he knew she was right. He didn't have the money to have choices, but at the same time, he couldn't put Optimus in danger. He'd ask for Bee's help, but he knew that Bumblebee had no choice but to follow the orders of his leader.

If Optimus ordered Bee to turn Sam over, as much as he might not want to, Sam knew he'd be turned over.

"Look... Optimus wants to talk to you." Mikeala sighed, her voice getting quieter. "He's already admitted that if you're adamant about this, he won't try to take the shards back, but once you show signs of really changing and getting sick... He wants you to be safe." There was a moment of silence. "We all do."

His irritation kept rising, but at her words and tone, he felt it melt away. He still had that migraine, and felt heavy, but as he relaxed, he felt immensely better. _They're bots of their word. If Optimus was still mad..._ "I'll only ride in Bee, and I won't even show the shards to the others."

There was a sound of a breath being released, and it sounded almost shaky. "ThankyouSam."

He blinked, startled at the force and speed of her words, but slowly, he relaxed once again, taking in the relief in her tone. He felt a shaky smile of his own trembling at the corners of his lips, as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and turned it on. "My cell's on. They can trace my signal."

"We'll be there soon, Bee and me in the lead."

Nodding a little, he felt like a little of that heavy weight in his heart had been lifted, and gave his first genuine smile since stealing the shards from Optimus. "I'll be here." As he hung up, he marvelled at everything that had happened.

Optimus had been a little reluctant to show the shards, at first, but Sam somehow -and he didn't really know how- managed to convince him. They sat there, dull and dark, almost _looking_ as threatening as they felt, in the Autobot leader's 'glove compartment'. He'd startled himself with the hesitation, speaking to Optimus, before he made his move.

**Flashback**

"You know how important you are to us, right?" His tone was quiet, and it took everything he had to keep his voice from shaking. He felt...cold with dread and terror, even as his eyes remained glued on the six absolutely tiny pieces of metal, just..._lying_ there. "I mean, we've barely known you for long, but you're... You're kinda like a father to us." There was really no other way he could see to explain the fatherly presence the bot had with them.

"Sam...?"

He heard the hesitation and confusion in the tone. As much as he wanted to, he _still_ could not tear his eyes from the shards. "You saved our world. You risked everything... The future of your people, your world, your _life_ to save us."

"_You_ saved earth. Sam, I do not understand..."

The glove compartment door trembled slightly, and Sam realized that either Optimus was getting suspicious, or worried. Either way, his time was up. "You mean everything to us, but not only to us. To your own people, too. I'm sorry, Optimus. I'm _so_ sorry." Reaching out quickly, he scooped up the shards, barely managing to believe such a quick, uncalculated move managed to get them _all_, and hopped out the open door, wincing as he landed painfully on his feet.

He could hear the door slam shut behind him, just a second too late, and casting one final glance at Mikeala by the hotel door, he took off at a dead run, shoving the shards in his pocket and ignoring the feeling of nausea and pain that rolled through him almost immediately.

**End flashback**

Opening his eyes, he glanced into the glass wall of the phone booth, focusing his eyes on the faint reflection and wincing. Even in the almost invisible reflection, he could make out that his eyes were darker. Not a good sign.

Still, he'd given his word, and as much as he regretted it, he'd keep it. After all, Mikeala was right. If they did find the priestess, she couldn't help him unless he was _with_ them. With a final sigh, he pushed the door open and stepped out of the phone booth, his eyes scanning over the people walking around, clueless to the danger they were all in.

For a split second he missed the naivety. The peace and monotony of a normal life.

Then he thought about Bumblebee... The first transformation, the unusual way Bee spoke, the eager, happy look in his eyes-err 'optics' when Sam said 'yes' to staying with the bots. He thought about Mikeala's words...

_No matter what happens... I don't regret getting into the car with you._

The look in her eyes, the feel of her resting against him, kissing him, and the happy look in _her_ eyes...

Peace flowed through him, almost feeling alien since he first ran away two days earlier. Even the headache seemed to fade, along with the longing of a normal life, and he smiled as he stood on that step. _I can't regret it either, 'Keala._ He thought happily, hearing a horn honking and turning towards it. He saw the familiar forms of his friends, and even though he still felt sick, it wasn't foremost in his mind. _I can't regret it either._

**(Kendra's POV)**

A shiver ran through me, and I sighed, turning sideways and curling up even more, trying to ignore the faint restraining feel of something across me, and the fact that I wasn't very comfortable. My chest ached badly, and my head wasn't too far behind, but I kept my eyes closed, reaching out and feeling for my blanket.

It took a moment of patting around, before my fingers brushed against cloth and I grasped at it. I curled my fingers around it, already feeling warmth and pulled it towards me, only to groan when it only came so far before stopping. "Damn it..." I muttered quietly. "C'mon..."

"Kendra?"

A wave of pain ran through me, and I gasped, clutching at my chest when my heart stalled again. A white-hot pain washed back and forth, like waves of an ocean, and my vision spun.

"Kendra?"

That was a different voice, Rana. Memories came to me, of laying in Prowl's passenger seat, Rana in the back. The third piece of the 'allspark' hanging around my neck. _Well so much about that idea. I suppose I'm going to keep getting sick every time I find one of those damn shards._ I shuddered a little gasping. The pain only seemed to get worse, but it suddenly rushed to the back of my mind when I realized something.

I expected my heart to skip a few beats, and then pound harshly. I expected the feeling of heat racing through me, my body vibrating from the sheer force of my heart beat.

That's not what I got.

My eyes flew open and I gasped, suddenly having trouble breathing. I felt warmth on my arms, but it didn't register. I could see Prowl's holographic form looking down at me, his eyes bright with concern, and Rana leaning over me, terrified and wary, holding an arrow in one hand, her other hand on my shoulder. "My heart!" I gasped again, my chest constricting.

I could breathe, but it didn't feel right. It felt like I wasn't breathing enough. I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. I gasped again and again, feeling my body screaming.

"What wrong with your heart?!"

Her voice seemed abnormally loud to my ears, and I closed my eyes again.

"Kendra??"

_Start._ I thought, my fingers almost digging into flesh as I focused. _Please, oh my God! Something's horribly wrong!_ My eyes opened again, as I felt arms wrapping around me. It was like the world was fading and sharpening all in one. Things were happening, but I was only half aware of it, but those things I _was_ aware of were sharp and precise. _This isn't right!_

"Kendra Morgan, focus. Fight the darkness."

I blinked and looked up at Prowl, who was lifting me closer to him. "It's not..." I kept panting. "It's not darkness." No, it wasn't darkness at all. I had no urge to harm anyone. I didn't feel like a monster of any kind. I just felt...different. Not human. It was...a shock, and agonizing.

Suddenly, the grip I was being held in stiffened. I felt all too keenly as Prowl gasped harshly.

"What?! What is it?! What's going on?!"

"This...cannot be. It's simply.... It's not logical." The grip shuddered a little and loosened. Then I heard a solid 'thwack!' and felt it tighten again. Even in my terrified state, I wanted to laugh, realizing Rana -who knew about as much about his logic glitch as me- had hit him, realizing he was about to pass out. "The allspark radiation must have... But this doesn't make sense at all. Nothing like this has ever-"

"Would you shut up and explain what the hell is happening?!"

The scream made me wince, before I curled up, my lungs feeling like they were working overtime to keep me breathing. The pain was beginning to fade, but... "My heart... My heart's not beating." I pressed my hand against my chest, feeling a warmth and a faint hum, but no steady pulse. "My _heart_ isn't _beating_!!" But somehow I was still alive, atill awake and breathing. That didn't make _sense_!

"Scans show that your heart and lungs have transformed into Cybertronian equivalents, a 'spark' and 'oxygen tanks'." A tingle ran through me. "And that the transformation is slowly spreading. This has never... But I suppose we never truly realized just _what_ the allspark was capable of. It is possible the energy was only harming your body, so in order to protect it, it's transforming you."

"She's...becoming like those things....?"

My eyes darted up, zeroing in on the arrow poised over my head, ready to come down and strike. My vision was clearing, even as my breathing -which still felt very wrong- was slowly starting to steady. "What's going on?" My chest felt heavier.

"I believe you are...slowly transforming into a Cybertronian."

Those words sent my head spinning once again. Leaning in against Prowl's chest, I barely managed to bite back a grimace. The grip...wasn't as comfortable as he probably meant it to be. It didn't help that every one of my senses suddenly seemed to be kicked into high gear. I could smell motor oil and musk from Prowl, almost metallic. Rana smelled faintly of perfume, but blood seemed to cover that, and at that I _did_ wince.

_Ugh. Blood._ I could feel my nose wrinkle, realizing I, myself, stank of blood and sweat. It didn't help I worked up a decent layer of sweat running from that Corvette.

That Corvette...

"Prowl?" I breathed heavily, pulling from his embrace and leaning into the seat, noticing vaguely that Rana still held the arrow, but it was no longer poised to plunge into my heart. I wasn't hurt by her actions. I knew she feared me following the footsteps of her father, and all those other humans. Even though my immediate panic was fading, I was by no means relaxed and comfortable. "What happened with the Corvette?" My eyes darted about, and I did a double take at how clear and sharp everything was, even things at a distance.

I watched an elderly woman walk across the street in the bright sunlight, some distance ahead of me, and squinting, I felt a tension in my eyes and the image seemed to...blow up. It was like I was looking through a camera lense, and I just zoomed in, now seeing her clearly as if I was only a few feet away. _What the...?_

"The Corvette... I was unable to track it. Shortly after you joined with me, it masked it's signal. What make and model was the vehicle? Year?"

I frowned. Closing my eyes, I took in all the information swirling around in my head, almost literally too, and...seemed to be...organizing itself. I had to blink a few times to clear my mind, able to pull up an image, and jumping at just _how much _it was like googling the image on the internet. _Oh God... _"Um... 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept." I babbled a few other details that meant all of jack squat to me, before falling silent. "This is...terrifying." _That's putting it lightly._

"Are you still...Kendra?"

Turning, I looked over my shoulder at Rana, and found the smile easy to form, even in the growing state of shock. "Yeah. I mean... I'm not...me, but I'm still..." I frowned. "Uh, I'm not _human_... I don't _feel_ human, but I'm still me. I still only wanna help people." _That's not a very calming thought, though, considering I'm _changing_ into a freaking _robot_._

There was a loud groan, and I turned, watching as Prowl let his head fall back against the headrest of the driver seat. "Primus, save our sparks." He shook his head. "That's _all_ we needed."

"What?" I bit my lip to keep from giggling when the question was asked by both Rana and myself, in sync. I was feeling a bit hysterical at the moment. No so much terrified as shocked, confused, overwhelmed, incredulous, and a little pissed that the powers that be didn't think I could handle this as a human.

"He's an ally." There was a hiss, and his holo-eyes flashed angrily, before it passed. "An ally, but sometimes far more annoying than the Decepticons." For a moment, his eyes darted around, then he shook his head before turning to me. "Are you well?"

The question caught me off guard, but when I thought about it, I had to shake my head. "I don't...really know. I still feel like me on the inside, but everything else is changing. Breathing feels different..." I put a hand to my heart. "My heart still isn't beating. My senses are super sharp, and it's almost...easier to remember things." It was difficult to explain, though. At least the pain was fading, and I was finding it easier to focus on things around me.

He nodded. "You will adjust with time." Another scan, and I narrowed my eyes at him. "You are still transforming, but I believe the most difficult part has come and gone. We need to move, I'm picking up a faint Cybertronian signature, and I'd like to check it out."

I really _wasn't_ happy with all this, but to be honest I didn't know of anything I could do to stop it. If it was radiation, and my _heart_ and _lungs_ had already transformed, removing the shards might only kill me. I shook my head and struggled to focus. "If it's a Decepticon?"

"I will eject you and engage."

Frowning, I sat back. I was so confused and worried, but I knew that no matter what I said, Prowl woul follow whatever directives he had. Closing my eyes, I faced forward, tapping my fingers on the seatbelt until it tightened. Then watching as Prowl placed his hands over the steering wheel, using the pretenses of driving in order to bypass any curious stares.

We still got our fair share of stares, two girls who'd obviously seen better days getting a ride in a cruiser from another city, but it was no where near bad. Or, it was no where near as bas as it could have been.

As he 'drove', I allowed myself time to mentally wander, taking in all the changes and trying to make sense of them, while all the while more than aware that I was still changing on the inside. Part of me wondered what was happening, but the larger part... The larger part knew exactly what was happening.

Whatever the shards had done to me, it was getting worse.

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Thank you

Tenshi


	9. Too Close

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

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**Hawkeye** - Thank you ^^.

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**(A Few Days Later, Normal POV)**

"This is... Whoa!" Mikeala clung close to Sam, despite his obvious displeasure. She ignored the dark look he shot around the place, which would dart to her whenever she shifted her hold on his arm, sometimes making a point of kissing him on the cheek. She'd learned early on that her support was helping him fight it, and had seen him visibly soften at times, so stuck true to a plan that seemed to work.

"Scans reveal alarming amounts of vital human life fluids, but the majority of it is tainted with energon. I am also picking up several mutated forms in nearby alleys, that have not been evacuated as of yet." Ratchet's human holoform frowned as he raised an eyebrow. "And I thought the Canadian soldiers would have cleaned it all up by now."

"Give them a break." Sam sighed heavily, his eyes much darker than usual. "They're humans trained to fight other humans. Not clean up the mutated bodies of humans and animals." The corner of his lip pulled up in a hint of a sneer, and his eyes narrowed, before he shook his head and his expression cleared. "Sorry."

"I can take the-"

Sam silenced Optimus by shooting his holographic form a dark glare. Even the great Autobot leader was forced to take a step back from that look, not used to seeing such a dark expression on someone so young.

"Forgive me, Sam." He spoke quietly, seemingly at a loss for words.

Once again Sam sighed, and he shook his head. "No, it's not your fault. Look, I know you're worried, but I'm still...me. I know I'm changing but I can take this for a bit longer." He wrapped his free hand around Mikeala, pulling her close to him. "I can take this a little longer." He was insistant. He took in Ironhide's calculating gaze, endured Ratchet's almost automatic scan, and kept his eyes on Optimus', almost willing him to understand.

Optimus' holographic form was that of a hispanic man, of average height -surprisingly- with short, black hair that sat in an unruly mess on his head, and bright blue eyes. His skin was tanned, and his body long and lean -like most of the Autobot males in their human holoforms- and he looked to be about his mid thirties.

Pale, full lips pulled into a grim line, eyes almost as scrutinizing as Ironhides, before he closed his eyes and nodded. Opening them, he tore his gaze from Sam, although his expression spoke volumes about how he wished there was more he could do. "What have we found so far?"

Ratchet was frowning, his eyes scanning the area slowly, almost blankly. He seemed distracted, but at the sound of Optimus' voice, he turned his head towards the semi, his eyes still unfocused. "Scan results are puzzling. I've found nothing more unusual about the blood stains, however..." He paused as his eyes focused. "I've also picked up a Cybertronian signature. It's an Autobot, but that's about all I can tell. The signature is several days old and far too degraded for me to be able to tell if it's a familiar signal or not."

"But we have no idea where this priestess is, or if she's still alive?"

"We can follow the energon signal. It's much like..." His eyes went unfocused again, for a long moment.

"A...trail of....bread crumbs...sorta?" Mikeala offered hesitantly, her eyes stubbornly refusing to meet any dark looks Sam might send her. "You mean we can more or less follow it, right? We should get going then. The sooner we find her, the better."

"If she's still alive." Everyone turned to Sam, who was looking around quietly. Sensing their stares, he raised an eyebrow and looked right back. "What? We have no idea if she's alive, or one of these bodies."

"If we think that way, we might as well head back to the base and let the world fall into ruin." Ratchet rolled his eyes darkly. "If we're going to follow the energy signal, we should hurry before it degrades any further."

Sam's look was dark, but he closed his eyes a moment before sighing and nodding. He opened his eyes, pausing as Mikeala's hand tightened in his own, before nodding at Ratchet, his look saying what his mouth refused to. Then he turned and climbed into Bee, settling back and relaxing as they returned to their search for the nameless priestess.

As they set off, they couldn't help but wonder what else they were missing out on.

**(Kendra's POV)**

"Let me go!" I pulled, glaring at the creature in front of me. I could feel the quiver on my back, sliding back and forth a little, the arrows clacking around inside, and my bow hanging almost limply off my shoulder. A fat lot of good that did me. My eyes glanced to my left, locking on the tentacles wrapped around my wrist, then to my right, where more were wrapped around that arm. _Well...this is awkward._

My only real saving grace was that, if I was really going to die here, at least Rana wasn't around to witness it.

Abruptly, I frowned. _Wow, way to just give up._ I glared at the monster as it cackled evilly, it's voice like nails dragging across a chalkboard. "You know, you sound like you could use an oiling." My mind suddenly showed me less than decent images, and I groaned as a wave of nausea rolled over me. _Oh dear Lord! What a time for a gutter mind to kick in!_

I tried to shake the images, glaring at the disgusting ruined once-human body where tentacles sprouted from the shredded shoulder blades. The body itself hung limply in the mass center of it all, eyes glowing like red hot coals, and it's mouth twisted in an inhumanly wide grimace of sharpened teeth, dripping disgusting yellow fluid. The tentacles themselves were pale yellow, with sickly purple splotches all over them, and they were _huge_, ranging from ten to fifteen feet long, and about four inches wide in some places.

"You talk to much." The mouth barely moved, but the gutteral sounding words were out, floating over the air as a thick tentacle raised up in front of me. "Maybe I should do something about that."

I closed my eyes, immediately bringing my power to my fingertips, but something hot wrapped around my throat, squeezing and cutting off my oxygen, distracting me and causing my eyes to shoot open.

"No, no. We can't have you purifying me, priestess." There was a hiss and a laugh. "Imagine that. A _human_ carrying the power of the shards!" Another laugh.

I choked out a laugh of my own. "Look whose..." I gasped and wheezed, coughing as the tentacle tightened. I didn't let it deter me, though. "Talking." The eyes seemed to widen, and I forced a smirk, despite the way my body screamed and begged or oxygen. "At least...I'm s-still pretty..." I gagged, choking and rolling my eyes away from the leer, as the tentacle tightened even more.

Once again I found myself pulling at the restraints, struggling to breathe, and trying to ignore the funny hot hum in my chest, even as red began to flash in my vision. I felt something pressing into my chest, and I forced my head to tilt down as I pulled back, watching as two tentacles, ending in little claws, grasped at the area between my breasts, where my skin went in on a tiny divet indentation down the center of my chest, following where my ribs met in the front.

I pulled back, but could barely move. Instead, I found myself choking on my cries as the little claws dug into my skin.

Instead of blood, however, I watched as they slipped inside, my chest parting almost neatly for them. I was too shocked and fascinated by what was happening to really notice, however, that the claws were getting further and further inside me. Then, I watched as one snapped up, grasping at the chain I wore, with the three shards of the allspark.

_No!_

Suddenly, loud clicks and whirls sounded. The claws pulled back, even as I felt myself being dragged harshly with the body's sudden movement. My vision was blurry, but for some reason it was like I was stuck between being awake and unconscious. I could see, a little, what was going on around me. I could hear, though the sounds seemed distant and distorted, but my entire body felt heavy.

My chest slid shut once again, sealing without so much as the slightest hint it had ever been open.

_This must have been what he meant._ I couldn't help but shudder, still far from used to being more metallic.

"What's this?!"

Blinking, I gasped as the tentacle around my throat suddenly disappeared. I would have yelped, when the others joined it, and I suddenly felt myself landing painfully on the ground, except I didn't have the air to do so. Instead, I lay there, panting and gasping, trying to identify and ignore the red flashing in my vision at the same time, while slowly managing to tilt my head up.

The growled clicks and whirls were met with angrily whistles, and I watched as the tentacled monster seemed to try and _climb_ the one who interrupted him. The new arrival stomped his foot, angrily hissing and digging mercilessly at the creature crawling up it's leg, blue eyes narrowed in rage as it pulled the tentacled monster off. I watched as it lifted the creature to the air, and seemed about ready to throw it.

"NO!" I shouted, jumping up, and then collapsing to my knees as my vision spun and I coughed some more. "Please!" I gasped. "He's...got a shard!"

The new arrival's eyes turned down to me with an angry sneer on it's face, but it-he(?) seemed to take me in. It looked male at least, but then again, I'd never seen a female of their race so I had no idea. I could only guess. I felt the tell tale tingle of a scan, but endured it as his eyes narrowed as he lowered his fist, glancing down and tightening his fingers around the monster when it seemed to dig at him.

Then it yelped.

Eyes seemed to widen in pain, shock, and rage, before it's fingers slipped open. I watched as the mass of tentacles fell from it's grip, hitting the ground and quickly getting up. My eyes took in the way the newcomer grasped at his wrist, obviously in pain, to where the tentacled monster seemed to be getting ready to bolt.

My mind flashed through images of bodies lying on the ground, severed bloody limbs all over the place from where this _thing_ had pulled them apart. Grabbing my bow, I forced myself to my feet as I grasped an arrow. I knocked it, flowing my energies into it as I raised an aimed. The monster seemed to sense the power buildup behind it, because it suddenly froze, turning with a look of horror.

As soon as my eyes locked on it's undead ones, I released the arrow, watching the streak of glowing light as it struck the creature, burning with ease through the tentacles, and then hitting the creature itself right on the left thigh.

Directly above the allspark shard that sat in one of it's pockets.

As it screamed in agony, the tentacles began cutting through the air wildly, as if in a disarray of their own. I raced forward. I ducked under some tentacles, and used my bow to block others.

A sharp pain ran through my arm, causing me to cry out and drop my bow.

Then everything went still.

I froze where I stood, my hand clasping over the new wound where I'd been stabbed, blue-ish green liquid dripping down my arm. My eyes darted around, and I stepped back warily as my eyes took in the lack of tentacles swinging.

"Would you hurry the frag up already?!"

The yell had me jumping, and I grabbed a second arrow from the quiver, intending to use it to stab if I had to, before looking up. The voice had come from the new arrival, and I blinked, watching as it -he?- held the tentacles stationary in both hands.

"Come on! I don't have all fragging day." He growled, his eyes narrowing. "Slaggit, why are humans so slagging slow?!"

Blinking again, I looked back at the monster and raced forward. I placed my hand flat against it's chest, while focusing my energies into my fingers, and saying a quick prayer as the monster screamed bloody murder, smoking and disintegrating as it went. Then I watched as it turned to ash, dissolving around the shard, and blowing away in the wind, leaving the blackened shard floating in the air.

I watched it a moment, hesitating because I knew it'd make me sick again. Then it hit me, once again, that if I _didn't_ purify it and keep it with me, others would only be hurt. With that in mind, I reached out, my fingers curling around the warm piece of metal, and the same flash occuring as the black energies faded into a light blue. I removed my necklace, sighing in relief to feel and see all three shards already on there, and added the fourth, before refastening it.

"Now..."

I looked up again, watching as the newcomer sat down heavily, crossing his wheeled feet, his eyes resting almost indignantly on me as he gazed downward. It was such an odd position, but the look on his face kept me from laughing about it.

"Mind explaining what the frag's going on? One minute I'm getting a message saying my brother's on this planet, as well as the main team led by Optimus Prime, and the next I find a _human_-" Was it bad I was insulted by the disgusted tone in his voice? "-fighting _things_ with allspark radiation, _changing_ into a Cybertronian, and collecting _shards_ of the allspark!"

"Um, we'd better find another place to talk." I rubbed at my throat, and then hissed as I looked at the gash on my arm. Finally, I shook my head, deciding I could rest later. "I need to meet up with Rana and Prowl."

His eyes seemed to widen. "_Prowl??_" He groaned, before getting up.

In an...admittedly fast and smooth transformation, I gasped a little to find myself facing the yellow Corvette from before. The same Corvette Prowl had been trying to find since it saved Rana's and my life the other day. _Well...this is..._

"Come on!" The door swung open as the engine revved loudly. "If Prowler's here, I'll get my information from him. But be warned, if you make a mess inside me, I'll scrap you myself!"

_'Prowler'?? _I could only raise an eyebrow as I lifted my bow. I grimaced, feeling slime on it, and bit my lip as I looked up. _I've got slime and 'energon' all over me. I'm undoubtedly gonna make a mess._ But then again, something about his attitude... "I'm coming, I'm coming! Sheesh! Keep your doors on!" I grumbled as I walked forward. I slid into the driver's side, placing my bow in the passenger seat and feeling it as the entire frame of the car seemed to shudder violently.

There was a pause, and I had to bite my lip hard to keep from laughing, even as the door seemed to slam shut.

"Well? You're driving. I don't even know where you're going!"

I rolled my eyes. _Wonderful. At least now get at least a little bit of an idea why Prowl wasn't too happy to find this guy here._ I had to bite even harder to keep another smirk at bay. _This is one reunion I'd definitely pay to see._

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Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	10. Issues

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

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**(Normal POV)**

"He's here!"

The sudden swerve and shout made every other Autobot squeal to a stop, some performing tight U-turns and others sliding sideways on the otherwise unoccupied roads. Humans exited their rides before all the Autobots began to transform, and the former silver Corvette was very quickly the center of mass attention.

And one very pissed off, very sick human.

"What the hell was that?!" Sam glared at the silver and black youngling, his eyes dark with anger. His face was pale and covered with a fine sheen of sweat, but despite his sickly looks, he was still not someone you wanted pissed off at you. "What the _hell_ was so damn important, you just _had_ to interrupt our trip??" He glanced briefly at Mikeala who wrapped an arm around his, almost supportingly, and she quickly pulled back, his black expression more than enough to seriously frighten her.

She wasn't looking so good, either, her own face unusually pale, and her eyes dark.

Optimus frowned from where he stood, knowing full well Sam was quickly approaching the point of no return, and unable to think of a way to safely remove the shards from his person, without harming him. He heard the worried comments of his fellow officers, but ignored them as he struggled to come up with _some_ scenario where he could safely remove the shards without harming Sam.

"It's Sunstreaker!"

Once again all attention was on the silver and black mech, his eyes alight. Ironhide's own optics widened in horror as the news sunk in, Ratchet not too far behind him, as they exchanged a look.

"Oh Primus, no!" The weapon's specialist groaned, shaking his head. "Not that fragger. _Anybot_ but that fragger!"

"Hey!" Sideswipe couldn't be hurt by the elder bot's words, despite knowing just how serious he was. His twin was _here_! He was here and he was alive, that was all that mattered. "I can sense him! We gotta go meet up with him!"

"What about the priestess?" Sam folded his arms over his chest. "Oh, that's right. Humans disgust you, so you obviously couldn't care less that I'm more or less dying here." He sneered a little, not even flincing when Sideswipe visibly grimaced from the thought. "Well on the upside, you don't have to worry about scraping squishy jelly from between your wheel wells."

Sides frowned, his optics darkening a little as he sagged down on himself. He hadn't known the boy long, and though he knew this wasn't Sam, the implications still hurt him. Yes, he didn't hold humans in the highest regard, but _these_ humans were different. They were strong and loyal and a key part in stopping Megatron and his cronies. They were _friends_. "Sam, that's not-"

"Does it _look_ like I was born yesterday?"

The shout caused everyone to take a step back from the human, even as the seasoned soldiers exchanged a look not used to seeing the boy so...angry, and Optimus sighed, his optics landing on that of the others, and knowing his look was as worried as theirs was. Frowning a moment, an idea hit him. _What if..._? "Sideswipe, is Sunstreaker nearby?"

"Yes!" The excitement was back, although more hesitant. Optics kept darting to the human warily. "I can't reach him via communications, but he's nearby and he's on the move, heading further away. I can also tell he's...alarmed and disgusted." He suddenly frowned. "There's... There's a sense of urgency."

"Then it's entirely possible he's travelling _with_ or _towards_ the priestess, right? He's a prankster, but he's also a serious warrior." Glancing to the others, Optimus made a difficult decision. _We have no leads of our own..._ "We will follow Sunstreaker and see if he cannot help us find the priestess."

"Right. Let's make _another_ detour. Fine. It's not like I'm gonna _die_ or anything." Sam kept his voice low, but a glance told everyone he was fighting. His fists were curled tightly at his side, and Ratchet made sure the other Autobots knew his scans were revealing that the human boy's life signs were fluctuating alarmingly.

_**'Bumblebee, when the humans are inside you, attempt to sedate them.'**_ Optimus felt horrible, having to resort to such measures, but he knew that if they didn't do _something_, Sam wouldn't last much longer. He felt even worse that Mikeala would be subject to the sedative as well, but knew she'd never willingly leave Sam's side. _**'Try to keep them sedated until we find Sunstreaker.'**_ He sighed.

_**'And let us hope the priestess is with him.'**_

**(A Week Later, Kendra's POV)**

One thing about travelling with a girl just hitting her teen years, she was still young enough to believe some rather amusing things.

"You're a priestess, so you should _look_ like a priestess."

I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped me, even as I found myself dragged through a clothing store. _And what exactly is a 'priestess' supposed to look like?_ I was a little nervous, honestly. I didn't sense anything dark near us, but the new guy, Sunstreaker, didn't appear to be too happy to stop, no matter what the reason; even if that reason was a pleasant distraction from my current metallic situation. That, and I was a little wary about what she planned on getting me to try on.

Luckily, my worry seemed to be unfounded.

"There! You look like a priestess now." She smiled a little, nodding as we both stood in the hotel room, staring into the mirror. "I like it, it suits you." Stepping back, she brushed out her faded jeans and purple t-shirt. "What do you think?"

That was a question in itself. What _did_ I think? "I think..." I turned this way and that, analysing the way the long, floor length blue skirt flowed around me smoothly, to the long, lose sleeves of the form-fitting top that was white, button up, and stopped about an inch above my belly button. It was low enough cut to put emphasis on my throat, and the shards dangling from the necklace I wore, but still modest. It was a little dressy, but easy to move in and seemed to be made of a durable material.

"I like it." It helped I was able to find matching white knee high boots to wear under the skirt, which only showed up if I was running, and the slit up one side happened to pass over my leg.

I turned from the mirror, before pulling my hair up into two high pig tails, balling them up into buns and wrapping hair elastics around them to keep them in place. My fingers brushed over the shards and I sighed as I sat down next to Rana, my fingers trailing down to that divet in my chest.

"Is it true you're not human anymore?" Rana had been so wary of me for a while, but seemed to be relaxing when she realized I wasn't changing into a monster like the others.

_I haven't been human for a while, but now? Nope. Not one bit, if Prowl's scans have anything to say. _I nodded a little, my fingers pressing. I put more pressure, and felt my fingers sliding in further against my skin. Still, I applied more pressure yet, having done this before, even if it was honestly the freakiest thing I'd ever seen or felt.

I was kind of torn on how to feel. On one hand, I was terrified about being a freak, not that I thought the Autobots were freaks. In fact, I felt kind of bad for feeling as I did, but unlike _them_, I wasn't _born_ a Cybertronian. I was a human. Key word 'was'. A large part of me still hadn't really accepted that I wasn't anymore, even with all evidence pointing to that fact.

As I slid my fingers into the tiny gap, I ignored the warmth running through me, lost in thought.

_I was _born_ human, why couldn't I stay human? Why is this happening to me?_ I wondered if I could change into a giant robot. _Huh, freaky thought. Freaky, but slightly cool._ Note the 'slightly' in there. I was more troubled by what was going on, even if I wasn't really taking the time to really think on it. _So much to do, so little time to do it. _I felt like I had one foot in both worlds but didn't really fit in either.

I guess maybe the reason I wasn't so upset at this moment was... I didn't feel a lot of us fit in. Rana was a _child_ fighting a _war_. Prowl and Sunstreaker were separated from their friends. It wasn't much, but it did help.

There was a gasp, and I locked eyes with Rana, who was staring in horrified fascination at my chest. Looking down, I saw that my fingers were sunk into a crevice in my chest, the line splitting neatly, with no blood and no discomfort. Tugging slightly, I watched as the two halves of my chest, including my shirt which seemed almost glued to my skin for some reason, split apart, showing mechanical workings. _This would explain the blue blood thing, I suppose._

"Oh." I blinked, my eyes taking in a medium-sized covered area that seemed warmer than the rest of me, and then the little holds and cables and stuff all over the place. "Huh, whoa. I, uh..." I blinked again, my fingers brushing over the covered area, and gasping as a strange electrical current ran through me. Quickly, I pulled my fingers back, and watched as the two halves of my chest closed up again, the 'skin' returning to normal, as if nothing strange had happened at all.

"I don't know whether that was scary or cool."

"Neither. That's normal...for Cybertronians, anyways." The tone was a scoff, but we both spun, startled, and found a young man leaning against the door. His eyes had been locked on my chest with fascination, but once the armored plates closed, they snapped up to my face, darkening considerably. He raised an eyebrow at us, glaring through dark blonde, shaggy hair, his toned arms folded over his lightly muscled, teenage chest. Well, he _looked_ to be in his late teens, maybe early twenties at the most. "What's your problem? Prowl _did_ say he was leaving me here with you."

"You _could'a_ made some noise."

He rolled his eyes and sneered at Rana. "Yes, because it's my sole purpose in life to please every squishy I come into contact with."

I was holding an arrow that I'd grabbed upon reflex, when he startled me, and my own eyes narrowed at him. _I could stab him. I could say it was an accident. I didn't see his oversized head there, his ego blinded me._ Gritting my teeth, I vaguely calculated the risk of pissing off a giant alien robot to the possible reward of causing him momentary discomfort. _Damn, it's not worth it._ "You know, if you've got a problem with us, you can leave."

"I'm supposed to watch over you."

"Yeah." I nodded, before placing my hands in my lap. "But you can 'watch over' us from outside, too." I widened my eyes, making sure my voice was mocking, and not even batting an eyelash when his eyes glanced my way, narrowing dangerously.

Placing the arrow back, I mentally thanked who or whatever was looking over us that Prowl thought to stop so I could get more. Then I mentally cursed him for leaving us with this dumbass. "Rana." I turned towards her, ignoring Sunstreaker. "You wanna go for a walk?"

"Prowl said we should stay here."

I began to giggle. I couldn't help it. "Since when do _you_, of all people, do what _he_ asks?" I turned an incredulous eye on him. "Don't think he hasn't told me about you, 'Sunshine'." I swallowed when he growled ferally, his eyes flashing red. "Where did he go anyways?"

"None of your business." He straightened up, folding his arms over his chest again and turning away.

"None of _my_ business." I frowned, anger coursing through me. "_Me_. The one the _allspark_ has chosen for it's godforsaken quest?" I stood up quickly and walked over, getting into his face. "You can't tell me it's not _my_ business. If it deals with humans in danger, it likely deals with a shard. _My_ business. If it deals with Cybertronian threats, it probably deals with a shard. It's _my_ business. So I'll ask you again, before I decide to find out if my powers work on holograms. Where. Did. He. Go?"

Sunstreaker glared at me for a long moment, eyes shining brightly. It looked like he was going to ignore me once again, but after a moment, he sighed, the corners of his lips twitching a moment before he seemed to mask his expression. "He's looking into reports of meteor activity in the area. Wanted to be sure there were no other 'surprises'."

"Yeah, because you were bad enough." I shook my head, turning and walking back to the bed. I sat down, laying back and relaxing.

The T.V. came on, and I listened to news reports claiming about monsters and battles all over the planet. Then there was a click, and it was a sports cast. Another click, and it was talking rainy weather. I sighed to myself and relaxed, trying to focus on the cartoon Rana settled on, listening to the characters interacting, and even opening my eyes so I could see what was happening.

The room was silent, but for the television. A glance out of the corner of my eye told me Sunstreaker's eyes were dim, something he did a lot, and his hand was over his heart, something else he seemed to be doing a lot of lately. Rana's eyes were fixed solely on the screen in front of her, her attention wrapped up in the innocent programming.

Me, I was bored and restless.

After a moment of debating, I sat up, sliding a dagger into my boot before standing and heading to the door. I rolled my eyes as Sunstreaker's eyes brightened and he shot me a dirty look. "Just going to the corner store. You can 'watch me' from the parking lot with ease." I folded my own arms over my chest, standing there and challenging him.

I could feel the power of the shards flowing through me, crackling invisibly at my fingertips and dancing electrically through my hair as I stood there, eyes on the hologram in front of me.

Finally, he growled, stepping to the side and allowing me to pass.

"Be back in five minutes, or I'm coming after you." He snarled quietly, his eyes refusing to meet mine as I opened the door and stepped out.

I didn't bother to answer. I took a deep breath of sharp, crisp city air and let it out in a huff, I walked between the yellow Corvette and someone's little Honda Civic, half tempted to 'accidentally' fall against the 'Vette and scrape my nails along his paint.

Harmless, I know, but the panic he'd instantly get in...

I tripped. I caught my foot in the edge of my skirt and slipped sideways, catching myself on my hands, nails digging into the paint on the trunk of the yellow 'Vette. I felt him stiffen up, and smirked evilly as I straightened slowly, dragging my nails across the paint while allowing the energy to flow through them. Then I slapped the back end of the car as I walked off, ignoring the way the engine gunned loudly and the horn blared.

As I made my way through the parking lot, I raised my hand to my face, making a show of checking my nails and blowing on them, before hitting the sidewalk and quickly dashing across the street. As I entered the store, I broke out into giggles. _Serves him right! Hope I _did_ scratch his paint, the peacock!_

I walked over to the drinks and began scanning them with my eyes. Pursing my lips, I tried to decide what I felt like drinking, my mind only on the task at hand.

Then, a sudden cold, dark feeling washed over me. Something was coming. Something dark, and something _powerful_. I could feel my own aura flare up at the sensation, and I turned, walking briskly back out of the store, before pausing on the doorstep, looking in every possible direction for some hint....

_There!_

Like a giant, black cloud to the east, quickly moving our way. I began to walk towards the hotel, my heart thrumming painfully in my chest and the shards burning hotly against my throat. I nearly ran back, slapping my hand on the 'Vette's trunk once again, before pounding on the door. As it opened, I shoved Sunstreaker back inside, before spinning on his darkly glaring expression.

"We've got a _serious_ problem!"

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	11. Betrayal

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : Ok, so... I really don't know what to say besides I still have a ways to go on the story, and my muse is all but dead. It's been waning for a while, but I was hoping posting the chapters would help. *Is upset*

I would love to keep writing, but I really don't know if my muse will last. I'm already straining myself to write a chapter a week, and I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do. Not that I've backed myself into a corner, my muse is just flailing in his death throws. *Points to her poor Ravage-muse* :S I also want to state, just for the record, that it is no one's fault but my own. I got to chapter 38 which was a pleasant surprise, but the more I read over the story, the less I like what I've written. The characters are lacking, and I have no idea _what_ they're lacking. The story drags on, and there are _tons_ of problems I didn't even realize I was failing to address until I really thought about some of the chapters.

And considering how far I've written, to address them would take major rewriting.

So...basically, putting it bluntly... I don't like the story. I know I can do better. And personally? I believe the readers deserve better.

I hold my writing to high standards, and if I can't please my readers, it doesn't please me. I write for _you_. I enjoy writing, but I post it hoping others will like it. An occasional 'This is wrong' is ok, I love critisism, it helps me write better. However, in order to fix this story up to proper standards (_My own_ standards), would take a massive rewrite I just don't have the muse for.

Also, I just have a better muse for the other stories in my mind.

I know some of you liked this story, and I apologize for the bad news. Like I said, I have to chapter 38 finished, so I can continue posting if you like. Please don't feel this is anyone's fault but my own, I was struggling with the story even before I posted, so it's not you. Promise ^^.

XD I also know I'm rambling, but I really don't want anyone to feel bad, because I've received con-crit, or think it's their fault or anything. They just pointed out what I needed to know, and some things I didn't realize where already bothering me. The _story_ bothers _me_. That's all there is to it.

Anywho, I'll continue to post what I have. Hope you like what I've written so far. And sorry for the bad news, again. *Bows deeply, still upset*

* * *

**(Kendra's POV)**

"We have to hurry."

"Would you rather walk, fleshbag?!"

"Not a fleshbag anymore, stupid."

"Children! Children!"

Blinking at Rana, I couldn't help but bust up into laughter, despite the grim seriousness of the situation. I leaned back in the driver's seat of the Corvette and laughed loudly, causing Rana to bust up into giggles herself.

"He started it!" I pointed at the dash, before giggling again, and slowly falling quiet. "We need to make sure we meet whatever's coming outside of town, so it can't infect anyone, but that _power_! It... It's more than even _I_ have."

"It's a _human_." Sunstreaker snorted darkly. "I'll step on it, you collect the shards, and then you can wash my foot."

"I wouldn't touch your foot with a ten foot pole." I shot back, kicking the underside of the dash and carefully avoiding the pedals with my feet. "God only knows where you've been."

"Watch it!" The tone was a hiss. "I'll be happy when Prowl gets his aft back here so he can take you two." The 'Vette swerved past the occasional car on the otherwise unoccupied road, heading towards the town limits. "How close is the signal?"

I swallowed heavily, unconsciously clutching the shards in my free hand, the other clinging almost desperately to my bow. My heart hummed hotly in my chest, but my body burned with cold dread as we neared the massive black cloud.

"Well?!"

"We're close." It was Rana who answered, my eyes locking on hers. "And it's not good, is it?"

I shook my head, fingering my bow and grabbing for my absolutely stuffed quiver as the car squealed onto the side of the road, slamming on it's brakes so hard, I was surprised Rana and I didn't end up decapitated from the force of slamming into our seatbelts.

"He's..." The tone went quiet, and I felt Sunstreaker go rigid, his aura flashing multiple shades of yellow with his moods. "How far away is it?" For once the question wasn't a demand, but an almost desperate plea.

"Um, up your ass and around the corner?" I listened to Rana laugh and smirked. Then I sighed, rolling my eyes. I tried to guess, squinting as I looked. "The aura is _massive_! I can't tell for sure, but... If it's really travelling as fast as I think, it should be here in maybe ten minutes."

"He's out there. Slaggit, Sides!" The doors to the 'Vette flew open, and I found myself yelping as I was ejected one way, hearing an identical yelp from Rana, and sitting up, glaring as Sunstreaker took off in a squeal of wheels.

"Hey!" I quickly got to my feet, checking for Rana, and then picking up the arrows that spilt out of my quiver. "Dumbass idiot! What the hell did he think he was doing?!"

"Something's coming." Rana's voice was quiet. "I can't see it, but it feels cold. Really cold." She shivered a little, pressing in against me.

"Yeah." I nodded, trying to ignore the suffocating aspect of the dark cloud as it passed over us. Almost immediately, I blinked. The area around us grew darker, visible to at least me, but my entire body seemed to glow bright blue, dissolving the dark aura that came too close. Still, I clutched at my chest, feeling the inevitable strain. "We have to hurry. I won't be able to fight for too long." I slung the quiver over my shoulder and grabbed an arrow, walking quickly into the fog. _I shouldn't have brought Rana. Who _knows_ what we're about to face??_

We approached the top of a steep hill, the same hill Sunstreaker had sped over just moments before. Stopping at the edge, I felt my eyes widen. "Holy facking shit!" I bit my lip as soon as the curse was out, quickly bringing the arrow to the bow and knocking it, but keeping the arrow pointed to the ground. _Too far..._

Sunstreaker was in his robot form, talking to an identical robot in silver. They seemed to be happy, but then they both turned to something on the ground. As I watched, several other vehicles began changing as well. A yellow Camaro changed into a smaller bot, but his size didn't seem to be a problem when some sort of mask dropped down over his face, and he lifted a glowing cannon at Sunstreaker.

"Wait, are those Decepticons?"

"Can't be..." My eyes found the source of the dark aura, and I had to do a double take as my eyes widened. "They have...humans with them." And surprisingly, the two teens _were_ still human, even if their faces were abnormally pale, and their eyes listless. The boy, the holder of _multiple_ dark shards, was much thinner than he should have been for his height, but my eyes were forced off them when I noticed a blue Chevy Volt transforming, a glowing whip suddenly shooting out and wrapping around Sunstreaker.

His twin smirked and stepped back, eyes flashing red.

"They're Autobots, but they're corrupt." I winced, feeling the panic settling in. Grabbing Rana's hand, I led her to a line of rocks a little distance ahead, ducking behind them and then peering around. "Damn, they're too far away!"

"What're we gonna do? We can't fight _Autobots_! Oh no! What about Prowl! We have to find a way to warn him!"

I heard Rana's words, but my eyes were fixed on the screaming, writhing form of Sunstreaker, as he collapsed to his knees, blue electricity dancing over his frame. His brother smirked down at him, speaking in a language I couldn't understand, and Sunstreaker snapped back. It was the sheer agony in his eyes that had _me_ reeling.

"Rana, stay here. I'm gonna try something."

The boy was scooped up into the yellow bot's hand, sneering at the scene before him, but the others... I kept the arrow knocked as I dashed across the street, kneeling down behind a bush and keeping an eye out.

Suddenly, Sunstreaker lunged up, breaking free of the chains around him. I watched as he spun his twin around, before wheeling back and punching him, and then watched as metal flew.

I had to duck again as shards of shrapnel flew past me, glowing dull blues as they landed on the ground, and trembling a little. _Damn, what a punch!_

I watched some of the shards almost slide across the pavement of the road, as if drawn by magnetic forces. _The corrupt shards are drawing them back. Great, regenerating bad guys. That's all we need._ With a cautious glance out, I carefully withdrew my power, lashing out and grabbing a shard. I ignored the way it burned my hand, as I grabbed an extra bow string from a pocket in the side of my quiver, quickly tying the shard of metal to the arrow.

_It'll be drawn back to it's owner, and hopefully the power will work._ Biting my lip, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, praying as I removed my necklace. I slipped a shard free, using the excess bow string to secure it to the arrowhead, before placing the necklace back on.

The proximity to all the corrupted shards made what I was about to do extremely risky. For one, the arrow could swerve and hit the boy, drawn to the shards in his pants pocket. Another, the purified shard could taint from being so close to the other shards.

But I had no other option. It was Rana and me against three corrupted bots, two humans, and... I had to count... _Ohshit!_ _Six_ corrupted shards...

Picking up my bow, I focused on aim, watching as the silver bot pinned Sunstreaker down. I closed one eye, ignoring the blue Volt's approach to the downed brothers, or the humans on the ground. Then... I let fly.

The arrow tip glowed bright blue as it flew, quickly purifying the shard of metal on the shaft, but it was already too late. I could sense the aura of the shard pulling the arrow forward, giving it strength and speed, and then barely, _barely_ managed to keep from screaming happily as it hit a cord in the silver and black mech's shoulder.

A loud scream sounded, and smoke billowed from the area. The darker aura of the bot flashed so brightly, I had to cover my eyes. Then the light faded, and I watched as he sat there, staring down at his brother, his aura now a lot lighter and a confused look in his eyes.

"The priestess!" It was the human girl who screeched the words, her eyes dark as they turned in my direction, almost blindly seeking me out.

Garbled whirls and clicks sounded, and I stood up, grabbing another arrow and knocking it, allowing my powers free. I quickly shot at the Volt, clipping him in the ankle. It wasn't enough to damage him at all, but the energy in the arrow caused him to yell out and hop.

"RUN!" I yelled, dashing back towards the rocks as I went.

I heard the tell tale clicks and clanks of transforming vehicles behind me and ducked, grabbing yet another arrow and panting heavily from beside Rana. I heard an almost enraged, feminine scream, but ignored it for a split moment, trying to think straight.

"Ok, so you shot one...with a shard.... What were you thinking?!" Rana clipped me in the shoulder angrily, and I grabbed her wrist, watching as her eyes widened. "Sorry. I don't...feel well."

I nodded. "Me either." That was putting it lightly. I felt like I had a lead weight in the center of my chest, weighing me down, slowing me and making it difficult to breathe or think straight. Hearing squeals of brakes, I peeked around the corner, sighing and rushing out. "It's Sunstreaker!" I called to Rana, hopping in as the door flew open. I carefully shifted my bow as Rana slid across the hood, getting an indignant cry from Sunstreaker, before hopping into the passenger seat.

With another angry squeal, we were off, blasts rocking the ground around us.

"What the slag did you do?!"

"What?!" I gasped a little, not expecting such a violent reaction. A flash of silver caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I gasped, seeing the silver 'Vette racing at our side. "What-"

"He's back..." The tone was quieter, and I felt the seatbelt slid over me, not quite as harshly as it usually did when Sunstreaker was forced to give me a ride. "He was...sick. He was...corrupted. You did something, and now he's back, and really fragging confused!"

"I shot-Oh hell! I shot a shard at him!" I felt around my throat. "Damn it! That'll make seven they've got, and with that much dark energy, it won't be long before they corrupt that shard, too!"

"They don't have it! I grabbed the arrow from his back before we transformed." The glove compartment popped open, and I gasped happily, snatching the arrow and shard from it, before quickly removing the shard of the allspark and placing it back around my throat. "You're gonna heal him, though!"

"I don't even know how!"

"That doesn't-" Sunstreaker quickly went silent as we weaved down the long road, racing ahead of a Chevy Camaro and a Chevy Volt, the human.... The human boy was _flying_ in the air over them, his eyes pure black. "Slaggit! We gotta lose them! Sides' got Mikeala Banes, mate to the male, but you can't purify her with them on our afts!"

Suddenly, as if his words were magic, blasts rang out. Not at us, though. No, several blasts rang through the air, slamming into the ground before the corrupted bots, forcing them to slam on their brakes. The boy even stopped, snarling visciously at us from his place over the heads of the others.

Spinning forward, I looked up and gasped.

There in front of us were three bots, even larger than the others. A large black bot was lowering a glowing cannon, before he swiftly transformed into a black GMC Topkick C4500. Behind him, a yellow bot transformed into a yellow search and rescue Hummer H2, almost hesitantly, followed by the absolute largest of the three, a red and blue bot who transformed into a flame decaled Peterbilt Semi Cab.

They joined us in our retreat, and only moments later, the familiar form of Prowl pulled up beside us.

"Ok... I could really go for some answers here. Like... Who're they? Who was the boy? And how the _hell_ did he get a hold of _six_ fricken allspark shards?!?"

Crossing my arms over my chest, I sat back, glaring at the dash, before switching my glare to the surprisingly worried gaze of the cruiser next to us. I felt Rana lean against me, and let out a breath, sighing as I leaned back.

_How did I get myself into this. First mutated humans, then alien shards of metal, then aliens in general. Now I _am_ one, and we're adding corrupted Autobots into the mix?_ Most of that I could handle, even the whole being alien part. Sure I was different, but I still felt like me on the inside. I was still Kendra Morgan. But _fighting_ the giant alien robots??_ How am _I _supposed to fight _those_!?!_

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	12. Preparing for Battle

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : Ok, just an FYI. I'll be posting to chapter 38, and then we'll see how things go.

* * *

"This is...a lot to take in."

I could feel how wide my eyes were. It didn't help Ratchet was gently holding the unconscious form of the girl, Mikeala. I'd just purified her, and luckily I didn't kill her. Apparently they said she wasn't totally corrupted, so my purification wasn't fatal to her, but we'd have to hurry or it would be to her boyfriend, Sam.

The silver and black mech identified himself as Sideswipe, Sunstreaker's twin. I supposed that was why, while he was hesitantly grateful, Sunstreaker wanted to kill me even more. While saving his brother's ass, I put a tiny little hole in some unimportant cable in his back.

Yeah, remind me next time Sunstreaker needs help, to tell him where to shove it.

The others were Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and perhaps the tallest bot in existence, most weren't sure. Ironhide, their weapons specialist who got a kick out of sticking his cannons into peoples' faces to 'show them off', and Ratchet, their chief medical officer and the bot with the biggest stick up his ass. At least, this was what I was seeing and hearing. Apparently, Sam had taken the shards because Optimus was having a hard time fighting off the darkness. Something the massive Autobot leader felt horrible about, but could do little to fix.

I watched as he stood out, peering over the edge of a cliff, down into the lake below. Pursing my lips a little, I smiled at Rana, who went over to join the others, before walking forward. If I'd thought Prowl drew me in with his aura, and the sense of trust I had with him, it was nothing compared to what I felt around Optimus Prime. The giant, regal bot exhuded an extremely light aura, the brightest blue. It was even brighter than my own, speaking of a surprisingly gentle soul within the seasoned warrior.

I adusted my bow a little, before stepping over a rock and approaching the massive bot. Pausing by his foot, I gently reached out. My power flared as I touched his leg, and I felt him jerk a little, pulling my hand back as I bit my lip. "Sorry. Control is still a bit of an issue."

Looking down, his kind blue eyes locked on me, and in a whir of joint gears, he slowly crouched. "It's quite alright. You did not harm me, it was just...unexpected." He seemed to watch me a moment, before tilting his head a little. "How are you taking your new body?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm taking it." A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "I was terrified, but I think I'm past the point of doubting it or ignoring it. I know it's happening, and as much as I might not want it to, there's nothing I can really do to stop it." I shrugged slightly. "I have to thank Ratchet for teaching me to transform, though. That'll...definitely come in handy." _And I'll have to apologize for the dents I put in his head when he annoyed me with his constant threatening to throw stuff at me._ Wincing, I turned to look at where Ratchet was patching the very minor injury to Sideswipe's shoulder. "Now if only I could figure out how to _heal_..."

"That will come with time, youngling."

"Youngling..." I trailed off, remembering when Prowl used that term to describe the twins. It referred to younger Cybertronians, although it could translate over to humans, usually within their teens. Realization hit me, and I felt my jaw drop. "Hey!" I glared up at him, watching as he blinked in surprise. "I'm not _that_ young!"

He seemed to hesitate. "You look like a...I believe the term is 'teenager'? An adolescent?" Tilting his head a little, Optimus crouched further, bringing his face closer to mine.

I raised an eyebrow and folded my arms over my chest, barely resisting the urge to reach out and touch the rigid-looking metal of his, uh...lips and cheeks. "I'm in my twenties, thank you very much!" Not that he needed to know exactly _how_ old. My eyes once again to his lips. _Do Autobots kiss? Huh, what must it be like to kiss metal lips?_ The idea had me blushing darkly and tearing my gaze from his face. _Why the hell am I even thinking about that?!_

"Forgive me then. I meant no insult." He sighed and looked away.

His aura flickered briefly, darker and then lighter again, and I frowned deeper. Taking a step closer, I reined in my power and reached out, touching the warm metal of his cheek. "He was a close friend?"

Eyes narrowed. "Sam _is_ a brave warrior and loyal friend. We will save him." The insult was in his tone, as he corrected my use of pass term. Sam wasn't gone to him, and I knew he wasn't gone in general.

Guilt flooded me. It had been a simple badly worded sentence, nothing more, but I'd hurt him and I knew it. "Sorry. We should hurry though." I watched as his head tilted down towards me, and tilted my own head a little. "If he's harnessing the power like that, it won't be long before he's corrupted too badly for my powers to save."

"We are not ready. We have no battle plan."

I shrugged. "Always worked for me." When he raised a metallic eyebrow in my direction, I couldn't help but grin. "Basically, I go in shooting and either get the shard, or have _someone_ save the day." I leaned against his leg, carefully keeping my power locked inside me. "Sam took the shards to protect you?"

"I was....fighting a losing battle against the energies coursing through my body. However, I cannot help but wonder if I had kept the shards...if any of this would have happened. Would I still be me, or would I have changed into a killer?" He was clearly regretting all of this, especially when they had to leave Sam and the younger bots behind, in order to preserve their own lights.

As selfish as it might have seemed to him, I could see his reasoning. If they all stayed together, they'd _all_ be corrupt by now.

"I think..." I bit my lip a moment, before pressing on. "I think you would have been very sick, and probably close to changing, but that you still would have been you. Your aura is very light. You have a good, strong soul."

"Thank you." HIs head dipped low in gratitude, before he looked out over the lake.

Feeling the sensation of cold dread suddenly burst forth, I gasped, clutching at my chest. I heard the sounds of the sparring twins die down, and felt large fingers wrap around my form. "I'm ok." I stood straight, leaning slightly on the hand, before patting it. My mind did black flips over how unusual but neat it felt to have his fingers curled around me, gently. "We've got a problem though. They're on the move." I sensed them moving.. "They're moving away!"

"What?! We can't let them go!"

The voice startled me, and I looked up to see the girl awake in Ratchet's palm, still looking pretty weak, but also quite frantic as she looked around wildly. "If we wait too long to go after them, I'll lose them." I turned to Optimus and tapped my head.

He seemed to hesitate.

"Every moment counts." I spoke quietly and calmly, but when he looked down at me, I was fairly certain my expression was pretty grim.

Either way he nodded and stood. "Autobots, we're going in pursuit of the allspark shards and our friends. Roll out!"

He quickly transformed, and I turned to head to Prowl, when I paused. "Rana! Go with Prowl!" I looked over at the cruiser parked where the bot once stood. "You'd better keep an eye on her or so help me God..." Trailing off, I turned, patting the side of the semi cab before climbing up into it, thankful he'd seen to open the door for me. I settled into the passenger seat and relaxed. "We need to hurry."

"We're on it." The vehicles started moving, taking no time at all to get to speeds faster than most normal cars could go. "May I ask why you chose to ride with me?"

I froze, realizing I'd never asked his permission to ride within him. Had I offended him? "Would you rather I didn't?"

"I meant nothing of the sort, but I know you are protective of Ms. Greyson."

I relaxed and nodded a little. "I am. I watched her own father, a man corrupted by an evil shard, try to kill her. Prowl won't be in the main lines fighting, like you will. I think your presence and that of Mikeala's might help me slow Sam down. Just a little. If you see him so highly, then he must hold you pretty high as well, to take on the risk of the shards, just to free you from it."

The cab went silent, and I grasped the arm rests of the seat as I closed my eyes. "Not to mention, I need time to focus. This isn't going to be easy, and it's pretty much a given someone's gonna get hurt. I need to practice healing."

"Alright. I'll follow Bumblebee's signal, and tell you when we're getting close."

Peeking one eye open, I shook my head slowly, my heart feeling heavier than it had only moment before. "No need. When we're close, I'll know." Closing that eye again, I focused. _Ratchet told me to envision circuitry and cables, the energon and energies flowing within, and look for blockages..._ I sank into the seat, focusing on the humming leather-coated material below my fingers. I could feel every minute vibration and tilted my head towards it more.

_There!_ I could see them. Tendrils of light violet energy flowing from the leather to my fingers. I followed those tendrils down, into the circuitry and along it, feeling like I was being washed away in a current. I could feel a...tingling of sorts all around me, and felt the cab shudder slightly.

In my minds eye, it was like I was floating over a vast land of cords and cables and motherboards and more. The different energies flowed different shades of violet, and I paused when I found my path obstructed by a darkness. Quickly, I settled down there, feeling the warmth seeping from my hands into the material below them. I felt the truck stiffen up almost, as the tingling grew into a slightly uncomfortable feeling.

It wasn't painful, however, and I pressed on. The light blue of my energies mixed with the violet within Optimus, and I watched as cables repaired themselves, and the obstruction slowly faded.

A darkness overwhelmed me, and suddenly I was flying back through his body. In what felt like a fraction of a second, I'd gone from some unknown place in Optimus' body to sitting back in the passenger seat, and stiffening up at the sheer darkness of the aura around us.

"We're near."

"Yes. Thank you, Kendra. That was only a minor inconvenience, but the fact that you healed it-"

"Shows I can heal if given the time to focus." I shook my head, feeling slightly dazed. _And not without some repercussions._ I felt slightly...drained as the truck turned down a small road, seemingly only leading into dense forest. _The downside to a forest... An ambush can happen at any time._ Something hit me then. "Optimus! Pull over." He did as I asked without a question, but I knew he was confused.

Climbing out, I tugged my bow off my shoulder, grabbing and knocking an arrow. "We need to split up. If we all approach from one direction, at one time, any element of surprise will be theirs. Prowl will stay back with Rana." I shot the cruiser a look. "After all, I've happily designated you her guardian." I grinned broadly as his holographic form shot me a surprisingly dark look. "The rest of us need to split into groups."

"And the Autobots need to remain in their alternate modes."

Turning, I watched as Mikeala approached. She didn't look like she was doing well, but the fire of determination in her eyes qwelled any questions or concerns I might have had. _She really must love him._

"I'm going with you. You and I need to find Sam. If we can help him, he others should follow suit easily enough."

"Right." I nodded. "But a semi cab can't hide all that easily in the forest."

She shook her head. "We have to go alone. If he thinks we're threats, we'll be blasted before we can open our mouths. And sorry Optimus, but to them you'd classify as a threat." She didn't look happy. "Can you... Can you tell where he is?"

I looked around, gesturing with my head towards where the aura got darker. "Over in that direction."

"There's no possibility he would have gotten rid of the shards, either."

The new voice startled me, and I jumped, groaning as I spun towards it. "What is _with_ people sneaking up on me??" I hissed quietly, before blinking at the rather attractive hispanic man leaning against the front of the semi, looking troubled. _Oh, cute. _

He was taller than me, but still about average height, with tanned skin, pale full lips, unruly black hair and bright blue eyes. He turned towards me at my cry, and frowned slightly, before dipping his head in aknowledgement. "I apologize, Kendra."

I frowned in confusion. I'd met, albeit briefly, Lennox and Epps, and Mikeala. Other than Rana, they were the only other humans here. So if I had to guess, this man was an Autobot. Judging from the way he spoke, and his mannerisms... "Optimus?" _Wow, a cool looking giant robot turns into a rather handsome human man?_ But no, his truck form was behind him so...

He blinked, as if startled, before nodding a little. "Yes. This is my holographic appearance, and perhaps the easiest way to communicate with you at this time."

"Right. Ok, so point is... Mikeala and I head towards Sam alone?" I kept an eye on him, seeing him frown deeply. "Or can you change down into a human, too? I know I can, though the technicalities are still over my head. If I encounter Bumblebee or Jolt, I'll scream. Promise." I crossed myself and grinned at him, before sighing and turning serious. "You might not like it, but we don't have time to debate. You wanna save them?"

There was no hesitation in his nod.

"Then let us go. Split up, find the two bots with him, and disable them. Leave Sam to Mikeala and I." With a nod, I exchanged a look with Mikeala before sighing. "Ready?"

"Not really, but it's Sam." Her look was worried but determined. "I promised I'd be by his side, and I will."

I nodded again, taking two steps forward. "Then let's go."

As we walked into the woods, I was more than aware of the Autobots silently conversing, most of them were strategists, after all. Soon enough, as the black of the night trees loomed over us, the sounds and lighter auras of the Autobots began to fade, and before long, it was just the two of us, heading into God-only-knows what.

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	13. Interrupted

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

Sam's head hurt.

No, this wasn't just _hurt_. This was sheer and total blinding agony.

It didn't help every fibre of his very being was screaming how wrong this all was. It didn't help that while he felt his body slowly succumbing to the darkness, he still struggled to fight it. It _did_ help he could see Bumblebee and Jolt both struggling to fight the control he had over them. It was just enough... _Just_ enough to keep him from losing his mind all together.

The others didn't get it.

They ditched him earlier, and he could hear them muttering to themselves how they couldn't afford to lose their senses to the darkness. He could hear Ironhide's muffled words about protecting his charge, and Epps because he was there too. They did it to save themselves, to protect themselves, and while the shards offered up more than enough betrayal to cover what he _should have_ felt, he found he couldn't blame them.

_I took the shards from Optimus to see that he didn't fall under their control._

_And they ditched you..._

He growled quietly as he floated in the air, the icy power rushing through his veins, burning him in it's intensity. _Good. I never wanted them to fall victim anyways._ His eyes washed over Bumblebee, who lay curled up, grasping at his head. _He's strong. Good. He has a chance._

_He'll never make it._

_Of course he will. You don't know him like I do._ Sam was angry. He was angry at every aspect of the world, but more than that, he was angry at himself. _I won't give in, you know._

_You don't have a choice._

_Wanna bet?_

The power surged, and Bee let out a pained whine from where he crouched. Jolt stood over him, watching him blankly, but Sam could feel him struggling to fight his control.

No, the others didn't understand. They thought the bots were corrupted. That wasn't true at all. The younglings still held far too much innocence within them, despite being seasoned warriors, to be fully corrupted that easily.

No.

_He_ controlled them. He controlled the power, sensing the darkness within them and harnessing it.

Seeing Bee's struggle, he felt one of his lips curl up. _Could give him a shard. Would end that struggle pretty quick._

_With the priestess nearby? No. I think not. She'd purify it and him before it could take control._

That _had_ been the plan, too. Sam growled again, focusing on Bee. He found the darkness, the light threatening to banish it, and fed it with insecurities. He manipulated Bumblebee's memories, showing him how his 'friends' had abandoned him to be tortured by Sector Seven.

Honestly, he had no idea how he was doing what he was doing, but he guessed it was the shards.

_**Intruders! Intruders!**_ Bumblebee sang from his radio, distracted long enough for Sam to gain control again.

The boy frowned, suddenly feeling the burst of light. A glowing, nearly breathtaking blue light seemed to move through the trees. "The priestess." He hissed, power coursing through his veins. His body felt a rush of heat, and he shook his head to shake of a dizzy spell. "Spread out, it's unlikely she's alone!" _Mikeala?_ The sudden anger and terror fueled his energy.

He watched, many emotions warring within him, as two figures suddenly emerged into a clearing. One was a rather small girl, tinier than Mikeala, and looking younger, but with dark brown hair, bright blue eyes and pale skin. She wore white and blue, though her skirt was stained at the hem, where it brushed along the ground, and in her hands she held a bow.

Behind her, he felt his eyes widen minutely, his heart jumping, and the power fading just a _little_.

"Mikeala." The whisper slipped past his lips before the darkness surrounded him again, his body becoming still as stone where he floated with ease. _She's here. She's...._ He took in the bright blue of her eyes. _She's ok!_ Hope flooded him, causing him to sway a little in the air, and the bots under his control to weaken.

It was just a momentary lapse, but it was all that was needed.

With a sudden explosion of light and sound, several other Cybertronians were suddenly transforming all around them. Bumblebee was pinned before Sam could shake free of his haze, and Jolt was being held stationary by the Corvette twins, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.

"What is this?!" He shouted, snarling a little as he threw his hand out, reaching into himself for the power and lashing out with it, watching as Ironhide went flying and Bumblebee scrambled to his feet, battle mask dropping into place. "If you think I'm gonna be _that_ easy to beat-" _Why am I fighting them? They're my friends!_

_They abandoned you!_

_Mikeala's down there, too! She's ok. She's really ok, and she came back, just like she promised!_

There was a split second of hesitation, and a flash of light caught his attention. Bumblebee stumbled back a foot, smoking, before falling over backwards and lying motionless on the ground, optics dark.

"_No!_"

Sam seemed to stutter in the air, falling a foot, before shakily regaining his place, at least teen feet off the ground. Pain lanced through him, more emotional than anything. Next to Miles, Bumblebee had been his best friend. Rage quickly replaced anything else he felt, and he raised his hand towards Ironhide, his fingers slowly curling in.

A deep yell sounded and the weapons specialist seemed to freeze on the spot. His optics brightened in pain, and he seemed unable to move.

"Bee's still alive!"

The words did little to reach him, but the voice stopped him. He kept his eyes locked on Ironhide but a surge in power had him quickly darting to a different portion of the endless sky, just as a yellow blast went through the area he'd just been in.

"Sunny!"

"Don't call me that! You saw what he did!"

"He's still human!" Optimus' voice overrode anything the others wanted to say, and weapons were lowered, kept on the two bots under Sam's control.

"As if you care." Sam sneered, not missing the flash of hurt that floated through the Autobot leader's eyes. "You just _shot_ one of your own!"

"He's still alive!" The voice sounded again, and he found himself turning towards it, almost against his will. He saw Mikeala standing before him, the priestess with her bow raised, an arrow aimed at him standing just behind her. "Bumblebee's still alive, he's just stunned! Sam, you _know_ them! You _know_ they'd never abandon you or Bee, and they wouldn' hurt you or him either!"

"Like I believe that." But...a small portion of him _did_ believe that, unfortunately. "You left me! You promised-"

"I was captured!" She cut him off. "I didn't go willingly, and I'm back, aren't I?" Her eyes watered as she stared up at him. "Sam, it's _me_. It's Mikeala. I'm _right_ here with you, by your side. Just like I promised."

_Just like...she promised. See? She came back! She's standing with me!_

_This isn't what she meant, you know._

For a moment, Sam was confused. He didn't know which was the bitter voice, encouraging him to give into the shards' power, and which was his own thoughts, trying to rationalize reasons to stay himself. Shaking his head, he allowed the cold, expressionless mask to cover his features. "You expect me to fall for it? The moment I come down there, the priestess will purify me." He suddenly smirked, eyeing the few shards around her neck. "Or rather, she'll _try_."

Raising a hand, he flung out his wrist, watching as she went flying with a startled yelp. He slammed her into a tree, listening to her cry out in pain and hearing numerous voices calling to her in worry. He allowed her to fall, watching as she shakily, and very slowly managed to climb to her feet.

There was another blast, and he cringed, turning to find Jolt laying unmoving on the ground.

_Damn!_ He growled, before his eyes landed on Optimus. He saw the beseeching look the Autobot leader sent him, and felt the trust and warmth threatening all he had. With a snarl, he lashed out, using more power to send the Autobot leader flying back into Ratchet, both mechs tumbling over each other.

"Sam, please! Stop it! We all know you don't want this!"

"And_ how_ could you possibly know that?!" He shouted back angrily, glowering down at her. "You never once _noticed_ me during school! 'You new here?' Remember that?? How about 'Do we have any classes together?'??"

She blinked a moment, pain crossing her features. Her arms had been out in a motion begging him to stop, but she slowly lowered them. "You're right, Sam. I was blind to you all that time. But... I see you now. I see the real you, the wonderful, _loyal_, _kind_ man who'd _never_ want to hurt those he cared about. What about Bumblebee? Do you even realize how much this is all hurting him? Hate me if you want, but he's innocent and we know that."

He paused, staring down at her. He watched her eyes water, and followed one crystalline tear as it coursed down her cheek. He watched her take a step forward, one hand raised towards him. Vaguely, he registered that Optimus and the priestess were both on their feet again, but that didn't matter.

He found himself lowering to her height. He was a few feet in front of her, staring at her outstretched hand like it was a foreign object.

_She's right. She's done nothing wrong. Bee's done nothing wrong. Not even Optimus. I'm attacking them because I _can_, not because they deserve it. They're my friends._

_They're trying to trick you!_

_No! They're trying to _help_ me, just like they have been all along!_ Shaking his head, he glanced at the hand, waiting surprisingly steadily for him to reach out and take it. Finally, he did so. His fingers curled around hers.

And then he sensed it.

With a growl, Sam pulled Mikeala up harshly, pressing her against him even as he focused the energy within him as a shield. He glared as the ground around them erupted into dust and debris, hissing as tiny particles blew past them annoyingly. As the dust cloud cleared, he glanced up, ignoring the massive hole in the ground all around them.

"It's Starscream!"

The yell was so familiar, bringing with it far too many emotions and memories. Sam felt his arms slip from around Mikeala's body, pushing her back and dissolving his shield as he reached out with his power.

That was about when he realized his body was getting heavier, and it was getting difficult to breathe. His vision was getting blurry, but he ignored it as he clenching his fingers into a tight fist, hearing the agonizing scream as the Decepticon fell from the sky, landing in a writhing ball of agony on the ground. He smirked, chuckling deep in the back of his throat as he pressed tighter, drawing blood from his fist as his nails dug into the sensitive skin.

Starscream thrashed around wildly, blasting almost blindly as he did so, and sending Sunstreaker flying as an errant blast struck him in the hip.

Suddenly there was another flash of power, and a high pitched whine. An incredibly bright flash of light shone in his peripheral, and he turned, ready to block the attack. Raising his hand, he called upon his dwindling power to deflect the arrow.

And screamed in pain as the arrow only seemed to hesitate at the barrier, before busting through it, hitting his pocket where the shards were, and pushing past them to pierce his thigh. The pain blinded and distracted him.

"Sam!"

"Look out!"

There was another blast, and Sam looked up. His vision was darkening quickly, and he felt the iciness fade as his powers fled from him. The darkness, the anger, the hatred, it all disappeared so quickly, leaving him feeling light headed and weak as a newborn baby.

The last thing he really noticed was falling from the sky, and seeing a large black hand swooping by over his head, holding four shards in it's palm before the jet transformed and seemed to take off.

Then he found himself landing painfully, agony screaming through his body before everything went black.

* * *

**Shard Tally** :

Good guys = 6

Bad guys = 4

**Note** : When Kendra shot Sam in the leg, it tore a hole into his pocket. Just in case you were wondering how Starscream got the shards. When he fell, they were just a short distance above him, scattered slightly, which is why he only got 4. ^^

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	14. Star

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Three Days Later, Kendra's POV)**

I rotated my shoulder, trying to ignore the throb from a healing bruise along my shoulder blades, before sighing and leaning against the brick wall. I looked around, taking in the sights of the small ghost town, before glancing towards where Ratchet had Mikeala and Sam in his hands, keeping an eye on the boy's unconscious, weak body.

Mikeala wasn't happy, but understood why I shot him, and luckily, I hadn't hit anything important, so Ratchet said he'd heal up fine in no time. At least from that...

The shards around my neck were beginning to feel heavier. I was up to six shards around my neck, and the overload of power needed a little time for me to sort out. They were utterly tiny, but there were so many of them... Everyone was confused how a medium sized cube of raw power turned into such tiny shards, but they began to guess that maybe there were more shards then they thought.

That wasn't a very nice thought at all.

I was still pretty shaken from from being whipped around like a rag doll, but luckily we got Sam free. I wasn't sure how I felt about the knowledge that the allspark radiation was stopping at a certain point in his body, instead of continuously fading like it should have been, but I was glad his aura was lighter again.

Poor Bumblebee and Jolt though. They kept apologizing to all of us in a mixture of their own language, and ours, even though they had to realize they weren't in control of themselves.

"You ok?"

Turning my head, I smiled at Rana and Prowl's holoform as they approached. "Lost in thought. There's a lot to take in. Like the fact that Sam might end up with some powers from the allspark, too. Is he changing?"

Prowl shook his head. "No. His body is adjusting to the power within him, although it's an apparently alarming amount." He seemed a little confused.

I nodded. "What about this Stars Cream guy?" I raised an eyebrow. "And who the hell names a giant robot 'Stars Cream'???"

Rana busted up laughing so hard she had to lean against Prowl to keep from falling over. He looked a little put out at that, but handled it well, raising a hand to grab the back of her shirt, to keep her on her feet. "Not Stars Cream..." She laughed even harder. "I thought the same thing. It's 'Starscream'. One word."

"Even weirder." I shot back, giggling myself.

"Starscream likes to run interference, and he loves power. Chances are, he knows about the legend and what the shards can do, so he took his chance to get a hold of a few. I wouldn't be surprised if other Decepticons are in on this, too, so we'll need to keep an optic out. I need to run patrol, will you watch Rana?"

Rolling my eyes, I held out my arms, waiting as she walked calmly over and leaned against me. "Do you have to ask?" I kept my voice soft, running a hand through her hair. Sometimes it really was hard to keep in mind she was only a preteen. She seemed far more mature, but then again, after everything she's witnessed... "Shall we got for a walk?"

"Please stay close. There are...many unusual energy signals around. None of us really know what to make of them." Prowl's eyes darkened at this, but his holoform flashed and disappeared, leaving us alone.

"Right. I just fought a teenager with powers that would make Superman seem like a pussy." I stuck my tongue, laughing when I felt Rana vibrating in muffled laughter against me. "I think I can handle whatever's giving off these lighter auras all around us." Rolling my eyes, I exchanged a look with Rana, before shrugging.

"Mind if I join you?" The voice was almost timid.

Looking over, I saw Mikeala. She kept glancing towards Ratchet, who was handing Sam's still unconscious body down to his human holoform, before said holoform walked into a nearby, empty hotel.

"He ok?" _And you, by any chance?_

She nodded a little, a tiny smile crossing her face. "He woke up briefly, smiled at me, and went back to sleep. Ratchet says he should be a lot better in a few days, though the energy still isn't fading any more."

"Maybe it'll give him powers like mine." I suggested. Then I realized that was the wrong thing to say, when I recalled I wasn't human anymore. "Uh, minus the interspecies transformation." Rana looked at me like I'd grown a second head, and I stuck my tongue out at her, earning a laugh from both other girls. "Sure, you can join us. Just stay alert, I don't think we're in danger, but we're not the only ones here."

She looked hesitant, but nodded, and we began wandering off. The Corvette twins were off on patrol already, and Prowl and Ironhide were supposed to replace them, so my guess is that was what they were doing now. Optimus had insisted he be a part of the guard for the humans, most specifically Sam, and Ratchet was looking over him, and tending to the minor injuries.

I'd already healed a good portion of the minor injuries on the Cybertronians, as I found out the hard way that human bodies didn't react well to my energies. I wasn't so much hurting them as just causing discomfort, and the healing didn't work, making the discomfort totally unnecessary. It was part of the reason the shards felt so powerful and heavy to me at the moment, I was a little drained and fairly tired.

We walked down several streets, passing empty stores and residences that looked like they'd just been up and abandoned.

"What do you think happened here?" Mikeala shivered a little, pulling a jean jacket tighter around her shoulders as she looked around.

I shrugged, shaking my head. "For the most part? It just looks like people abandoned the town. There's no really dark energies, not even faint ones..." I paused. "Not _in_ town, anyways." I looked over to a distant facility that seemed to have a black cloud hanging over it. "That place on the other hand is dark. Real dark."

"Then let's stay away."

I nodded in agreement. "Uh-huh. I don't sense a shard, so..." I turned a corner, and a sound caused me to pause. I grabbed my bow, but hesitated in pulling it off my shoulder when my eyes caught sight of a light aura moving around a corner, in a nearby alley. Another sound, the sound of a garbage can falling over, caught my attention.

"Kendra?"

"I think it's an animal. It's aura is light. Stay here." I stalked forward, pulling my bow free of my body and allowing my energies to flow freely through my fingers, feeling it curl around the wood in my hand, warming it. I stepped forward again, peering around the corner of a wooden lodge and pausing. "What the...?"

A little silver face popped up, and bright, unearthly green eyes stared at me over a long, pointed snout. Black-tipped ears were perked up as the creature froze, it's tails.... I blinked. _Tail_s_?!?!_ I stepped around the corner, hearing the high pitched hiss and watching the tiny creature crouch lowly, baring sharp white fangs. _That looks like...a fox...kinda._ I took in the collar around it's throat, made of heavy-looking metal with a couple of torn wires hanging out of ports on it.

"Kendra?" Mikeala called a little louder.

I absently held a hand up in her direction, keeping her from coming closer. I watched as the strange, _young_ fox seemed to scent the air, before it tilted it's head a little. It slowly backed down out of it's threatening crouch, sitting on the ground, and letting out a surprisingly quiet yip.

I couldn't fight the urge to just melt, staring at it. It was...unusual, certainly, but utterly adorable. It looked like it was small enough to carry easily, and very fluffy... I had to shake my head, even as I knelt down, placing my bow on the ground slowly. _It's aura is light_. Meaning, it wasn't a cold blooded killer like most mutated creatures I found. "Hello there." It tilted it's head even more. "Where'd you come from?"

"What is it?" Rana was at my side before I even realized she was approaching.

Bad move.

The creature hissed and growled, before glowing brightly. It seemed to grow immensely, before it was roughly the size of an extremely large tiger or lion. It's fur seemed to fade, and metallic armor took it's place, and the green of it's eyes really _did_ begin to glow. A cannon formed out of it's back as it bent it's head low, metallic ears flattening across it's skull.

"Rana, get back!" I grabbed my bow, moving in front of her and knocking an arrow all in the same breath. I held the bow aimed at the creature, allowing my power to flow freely, and even pushing more of it so it'd be easily visible to the creature. My heart felt heavy, aiming a potentially deadly weapon at an innocent creature, but I wouldn't allow it to threaten her.

I felt her hands curl into the fabric of my sleeve, and watched as the creature seemed to pause. It lifted it's large nose to the air, sniffing, before stepping closer, the snarl and viscious look in it's eyes gone.

Still I held the bow, ready to fire at any time, even as I waited with baited breath. The large fox creature stepped forward again. Then again. Soon enough, I was shaking, terror and hope warring within my heart as the creature seemed to sniff at my hand. Then it moved it's nose to Rana's hand, and I pulled the arrow back further, causing it to pause. When it only sniffed at her, before moving back, I slowly lowered my weapon, keeping a wary eye on it.

Abruptly, it glowed again, returning to it's adorable fox kit form, and yipping once again as it sat down.

Hesitantly, I lowered to my knees in front of it. I put my bow down, keeping the arrow in the other hand, and reached out with my free hand. I let it sniff at my fingers, before pressing past the face, brushing a hand over the surprisingly downy fur.

Immediately, the little fox moved forward, practically curling up on my lap and almost...purring...like a kitten. I pet it gently, and watched as it relaxed.

"Awww!" Rana reached forward slowly, a look of utter adoration in her eyes as she pet it as well, and it sniffed at her warily before allowing her. "It's so cute!"

"She." I'd noticed that when she lay down. "She's cute." I had to giggle. "No, she's adorable, and she's friendly."

"Can we keep her?"

I wanted to laugh. Such a simple question, yet not one I would have expected, given the circumstances. "Rana-"

"Please?? I'll take care of her! I promise!"

Looking over, I made the mistake of locking eyes on her. Blinking, I cringed back at the power of her puppy dog eyes, then I heard a little yip, and looking down, I had to give in at the power behind _those_ puppy dog eyes. "Ok, ok!" I laughed again, shouldering my bow and placing the arrow away. Picking up the fox kit, I held her close, feeling how she quickly relaxed into my hold. "But you'll have to ask Prowl, he is your guardian, after all." I scratched at her throat, and paused, seeing a name on the collar.

"What's 'Kayuga Vetrinary Facility'?"

I frowned. The wires sticking from the ports suggested the collar was hooked up to something, _while_ on the little fox kit. Gently fingering along it, I bit my lip as hot rage floated through me to see that it was definitely welded to the skin, and there was no way to remove it. Still, I gently pulled the wires out, tossing them aside, before I pulled the little kit closer to me.

"I dunno, but let's not worry about that now. We need to make sure she's healthy." Getting up, I made my way out of the alley with the little fox. "Oh, and she needs a name."

"Star!"

Blinking, I looked over my shoulder and locked eyes with Rana. "Star?"

She shrugged. "She's silver, and her eyes seem to sparkle like tons of tiny stars are inside."

Part of me wanted to laugh. It wasn't a very original name, or very creative, but she did have a point. 'Star' suited the little one, so I nodded. I held onto her, scratching her fur when she became restless as we rejoined the others. I ignored the curious stares of the military men as I walked past them, and even Ironhide's loud grumbling about disgusting rodents. Instead, I approached Ratchet, asking him to scan the little kit.

"I'm not a Veterinarian!" He almost sounded insulted.

"You're the only one with enough medical knowledge to be able to make heads or tails of her two, uh...tails, and the collar." I raised an eyebrow as he seemed to consider that, then flinched at the harsh tingling of his medical scans.

"You are low on energy and require rest, but the fox kit... From what I can tell, it used to be an average fox kit, one of many used by 'Kayuga Veterinary Facility' for experimentation."

"What?!"

He blinked at Mikeala and Rana's outraged cries, and I ran a hand down Star's back to keep her relaxed, even though I felt my own ire growing. _Experimentation. On a _baby_ animal? One of _many_?!_ My eyes raised to Ratchet, who was staring off towards the distant facility, and it hit me. "_That's_ the 'Kayuga Facility'?!"

"It seems something caused a power surge, and a combination of human technology within the kit as well as allspark radiation transformed it into a Cybertronian. Much like yourself. It isn't too intelligent, however. Not on a human level. It can understand basic words, quite probably sense auras like yourself, Kendra, and can transform, again like yourself."

"In other words, we're two peas in a pod." I glanced away from the facility, blinking at his confused look, before shaking my head. "Never mind. Human saying. It's stable then? It won't mutate into anything dark, or explode or anything?"

"Um, no. As far as I can tell, there's some sort of energy barrier around it, and even your purification powers aren't affecting it, so I could hazard a guess that the corrupt shards wouldn't be able to harm it either." He frowned.

I nodded, feeling relief coursing through me. "Does it eat?"

"Not in the same sense as organic mammals, no. It would require energon, much as we would, once every few months, but that's about it."

I nodded again before turning to Rana. "Well, it looks like you're gonna get your wish." I carefully handed the half sleeping fox kit over, feeling it as it stiffened up in Rana's arms, watching her through wide green eyes, before relaxing as she gently pet it. _Of course it'd be wary of humans, if it was experimented on, but at least it can tell we're not gonna hurt it_. "See little one, she won't hurt you." I watched as the little fox yipped at me, before sighing and turning. "Can you all stay here? There's something I need to do, but I'm not sure how long it'll take."

My eyes, almost against my will, found the facility again. There was an immense dark aura coming from it, and I wouldn't have been surprised if there were a _lot_ of corrupted people inside, doing God-only-knew what. There were also light auras in there, but they were barely fading pinpricks of light in comparison, and I felt my heart clenching uncomfortably as I watched one disappear.

"You're not going alone."

William Lennox's voice caught me off guard, and I turned to find him eyeing the little creature with doubt and shock, before his own eyes hardened and he turned towards me. "I got the gist of what he was saying too. There's probably more innocent creatures in that facility and who knows what kind of monsters. We could leave them, but then we condemn innocents to die, and it's only a matter of time before that darkness spreads to other cities, hunting humans."

I looked into his eyes, glancing past him to see Epps standing there, his dark face twisted into an almost pained grimace, even as one of his hands held onto the butt of his gun and he glared at the distant facility. "We'll be on our own. The Autobots won't fit into a place like that without destroying it and risking bringing it down on the creatures inside."

Both soldiers gave me a look, speaking volumes about how little they cared about the threats.

"I don't like you going alone." Optimus spoke up.

"They're not." Rana's voice had me shooting her a look, but she pointedly ignored me, even as the little fox kit hung half over her arm, relaxing, twin tails wrapped around her arm in a cute fashion. "I can fight too, and I'm gonna help." She glared at me when I opened my mouth to argue. "I'm a fighter too, remember."

"I'll go to." Mikeala ran a hand down Star's back, her eyes sad. "I can't stand seeing anything so innocent hurt like this. I wanna do _something_."

"Sam is too weak to go anywhere, I will remain here to watch over him." Ratchet decided to add his own two cents in. "Jolt, I'd like you to go with them, in case there is a fight and someone needs medical assistance."

"Ironhide and I will go as well." Optimus nodded. "While we might not be able to enter the building itself, we can act as backup if there is a problem, and Ironhide's alternate form can be used for a quick retreat if need be. The rest will remain here as guards to our temporary base of operations."

"Ironhide's on patrol."

"I've already called him back."

Bumblebee nodded at something, before bending down. He gently pressed a finger to Mikeala's back, a soft look in his eyes even as she pressed her hand against his and smiled up at him. Then he stepped back, transformed, and took off towards the Topkick in the distance, heading our way.

"We will need to be prepared for anything. Bumblebee sent me his scan results earlier, and there are many life signs inside the building. Undoubtedly there will be a battle. Autobots keep your guard up, and keep both optics on our human allies. Transform and roll out!"

He transformed and held a door open for me, which I happily accepted. I climbed into the driver's seat, and then took Star, moving to the passenger seat as Rana and then Mikeala climbed inside. Both girls crawled into the sleeper part of the truck, laying the little kit down on the bunk and petting her to her heart's content, and I smiled as I turned forward.

"I admire your heart." The words were quiet, but I turned towards the dash, where it had come from. "There is no shard here, but you are still willing to face danger to free innocent creatures. Not even humans at that. It is admirable."

"Every life counts, Optimus." I smiled a little. "I used to be a huge fan of Resident Evil, a game and a movie, and there was one saying that always stuck with me. 'If you can't save one life, you'll never save any'."

There was silence in the truck for a long moment, before a slight hum. "I agree. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. We will be there momentarily, be ready." With that, the seatbelt slid over me gently, buckling in and tightening just enough to be comfortable, and the cab fell into a hush as two humans ooed and awwed over a mutated fox kit, and the two non-humans made battle plans.

* * *

**Note** : The idea of a creature like Kirara (sp?) from Inuyasha was hashed out between myself and **Faecat**, so I don't own exclusive rights to it. Well, I wouldn't anyways, since it was modeled after an existing characters. -.-' LOL The idea of using a fox kit was hers. I don't own that, either.

Damn... Do I own anything?? O.o LMAO!

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	15. Newcomers

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : So far the newest story is doing wonderfully. I realize that the farther I go with this story, the more it falls apart, and I apologize for that. Like I said, it was just too complicated an idea to do. Too many things to intertwine together, and FAR too long since I'd done a crossover last. -.-'

**Legend** :

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

_"Cybertronian"_

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

The power coursed through him, cold and raw. It burned and froze, until his entire body was numb. It was only four shards, out of a couple dozen, but the sheer magnitude of the power was enough to bring him to his knees as he struggled to control it.

It felt _good_. It felt like strength and stamine and immortality. But it was incomplete.

_I need more. I need the others._ _"Barricade!" _He stood up swiftly, forcing his mind on the room before him, rather than the battle within him. As a black and white mech entered, the word 'police' almost mocking as it flashed under the lights of the cavern, Starscream sneered. _"I have a mission for the Decepticons."_

The other mech stood there, staring. Starscream's optics were much darker than normal, and if his own optics weren't malfunctioning, he could have worn the jet seemed bigger. It prickled at his pride, submitting to this bumbling oaf, especially with the allspark shattered, but he grimaced and took it, keeping his comments to himself. _Traded a malicious, clever leader for a pit-spawned glitch such as this. I should have run when I had the chance._

_"We're going shard hunting!"_ There was a cackle. _"Keep an eye on the human news reports and make your way towards anything remotely unusual. We need to gather our forces and our strength. Any shards you find, don't touch. Just keep them out of Autobot hands."_ _If they touch them, they'll want to keep them._ He watched a glint cross Barricade's optics. _Not that, that matters. They want them anyways. "Any Decepticon I find disobeying orders, I'll offline myself. Slowly."_

Barricade barely managed to fight down the shudder, the very real threat almost thundering through his body as he took in Starscream. _He's always been power hungry, but it's worse now. Something's changed._ A large part of him wanted the shards for himself. If he got the power, he wouldn't have to follow Starscream anymore. An even _larger_ part simply wanted to find a place where he could sit back peacefully and ignore the war around him, but with Starscream in charge... _It's impossible. If there's one thing he and his trine know how to do, it's keep track of us._

_"Well??! What're you waiting for! Get moving!"_

The shout shook him out of his thoughts, and biting his tongue hard enough to draw energon, he slowly bowed, never once taking his eyes off their new leader. He backed out of the room, not trusting Starscream not to shoot him in the back the moment it was turned, and walked down a hall. There he passed numerous Decepticons, not the least of which was Starscream's trine mates, both looking awkard and as though they were in pain. Sideways was stalking down the hall, chatting with Dead End.

Blackout caught his optic and nodded almost invisibly, knowing he had an ally in Barricade, _only_ because they'd both had enough of war, and following idiotic, suicidal orders, even as the helicopter bent down to work on repairs for Scorponok.

Soundwave ignored everyone, fixing up Frenzy, and sparing Barricade only one brief, blank glance, before returning to his work.

A small, satisfied smile crossed Barricade's face as he broadcasted their 'leader's orders. He knew a few of the Decepticons were ready to leave and at least attempt to live a life of peace. While they wouldn't go toting 'Team Autobot' signs, or making friends with the pathetic humans, they would leave well enough alone, if they had a chance.

There was only one thing standing in their way.

Or rather, one _bot_.

**(Kendra's POV)**

Knocking another arrow, I let it fly, still finding myself amazed at the brightness of the light that shone from it as it shot through the massive dark room, hitting a large monster on the far side of it. I then grimaced as several mouths opened at once, the humanoid faces turning unseeing eyes on me.

"Help...us..." The chorus of voices was unearthly and terrifying. More so than the massive blob of flesh and metal that seemed to ooze forward, tentacles and inhumanly long arms reaching out towards us. "Help...us..."

"Do they really want help, or are they just doing that to freak us out?" Rana stood behind Star, who was in her metallic form, blasting at smaller creatures that stumbled forth.

"A little from column A. A little from column B." I tilted my head, shooting another arrow, and then wincing. "We need to end this fast. My energy's getting low."

"Are you freaking kidding me?!"

Rolling my eyes, I ducked under a tentacle, ending with a snake head, and swung my bow at it, forcing my power into it and watching as the tentacle went flying back at the monster before turning to dust, eerie screams echoing through the hall. "I don't run on batteries you know! I've been up for what, days straight? I'm freaking exhausted, and let's not add in all the healing I had to do!" I barely managed to spin past one of the arms, the nails raking along the skin of my side, leaving angry red marks in it's wake. "Ow!"

Gunshots rang out.

"How do we kill this freaking thing?!" Lennox ejected the clip in his gun and loaded another. "We're gettin' low on ammo over here!"

"How many light auras are left?" Mikeala called, standing next to a large fire extinguisher, which she handled like a baseball bat, swinging it with a grunt at one of the smaller creatures, before almost skipping away.

I focused quickly from Star's side as she blasted another tentacle with the cannon on her back, I watched one coming from at her side, and quickly knocked an arrow, firing and taking it out before it could sink terrifyingly long fangs into exposed cables on her neck. I nodded when she glanced at me, before turning back, ignoring the fright running through me.

_So many battles, you'd think I'd be used to it by now. These things just keep getting creepier and creepier._ I scanned the area. "None! We got them all!" Or...more had died while we were fighing. At least we'd managed to find a security system, where Epps managed to hack in and release hatches to cages. All the animals were gone.

Now the only ones trapped were us.

"We're stuck though! How do we get out with that _thing_ blocking the entrance?!"

I paused in raising my bow as an idea struck me. _Well, he _did_ teach me how..._ Biting my lip, I noted that the doorway was higher than the monster. It would be really risky and a bit of a tight squeeze, but...

Dashing back, I flipped in the air over a tentacle, swiping my bow at it before landing and stumbling as I ran away from the others. Once there. I put my bow and quiver on the ground before triggering my transformation.

I still say it's odd. The feeling of expanding and compressing on myself, my body rearranging, and limbs molding to the form, becoming useless. After running his own scans, Ratchet deemed me a flier, so he had me scan a passing helicopter.

Once I was done, I hit a small alarm, before stopping it again, rotating my propellers almost experimentally as the others turned and began racing towards me. Star transformed and hopped in with Rana and the soldiers as Mikeala grabbed my weapons, hopping in just before I closed the side doors.

"Have you ever flown before?"

I froze at the question, before rotating the propellers faster and faster. "If you have some way of communicating with Optimus, I suggest you do so. Tell him we're coming out hot and for Ironhide to blast the place to smitherenes."

"Kendra, have you ever flown before?"

"Let's put it this way..." I rose into the air, shakily wildly before steadying myself and hovering there before I figured out how to change directions. "If I knew how to create helmets and seatbelts, I would. In the meantime, stay down and hold on!" I flew forward suddenly, attempting to catch the creature off guard. I felt a tentacle wrap around one of my propellers but spun it more forcefully, giving me more power and slicing it right off.

More tentacles wrapped around my rungs and I yelped as I was pulled down.

Then a blast hit the mass. Two more quickly followed suit, and the tentacles were either blown off, or let go, allowing me to slide forward. I blinked at the sight before me, before deciding questions could wait and flying over the three motorbikes suddenly sitting in the otherwise empty hall.

"Are they Cybertronian??"

I raised an invisible eyebrow and smirked. "Either that, or inanimate objects are coming to life." I flew down the hall, quickly entering the main unloading bay where Optimus and Ironhide were sitting. Once there, I quickly opened the door, allowing everyone out, before transforming and taking my weapons. "Message?" I looked to the boys, who looked sheepish. "A little distracted, got it."

The three bikes flew into the room, all three with identical women riding on the back, whom weren't there before.

"It's heading this way!" One called, her voice low and smooth, her eyes locking on me, before widening as she took in the other two forms in front of her. The one on the purple bike smiled very suddenly, and pushed over to brush against the Topkick's side almost gently, like a caress.

"We need to blow this place up. Nothing else seems to kill that thing, and I can't get close enough to purify it with all those tentacles and arms." I called, racing towards the semi.

"Purify it?" The pink biker seemed confused.

"We'd best hurry." Optimus' holoform appeared, almost looking for the world like the faint sunlight leaking into the room was making him glow. It was unusual because while his truck form glowed with a light aura, but his humanoid form had no aura. It was like the sun gave him one, really making his glowing blue eyes stand out.

He looked good.

Saking my head to clear my mind, I nodded at him and climbed into the Peterbuilt, once again taking Star as the other girls climbed up, and the guys hopped into Ironhide, who almost seemed more...perked on his axels, if that made any sense.

This time it was my turn to climb into the sleeper, sinking down on the surprisingly plush bunk in the back. I pulled my bow and quiver off, placing them on the floor, before lying sideways. on the bunk with Star curled up at my throat like a warm ball of fuzz. A little whine sounded, before I felt her bury a cold snout in my throat. I giggled and curled up, feeling comfort drifting over me easily.

It was so light, I could almost blame my imagination, but even as the truck sped away from the building, and a resounding blast rocked it a little, I felt blankets sliding over me. Cracking open an eye, I smiled up at Optimus who was in his holoform, pulling a thin, soft blanket over my body. "Thanks." I wrapped an arm around Star and cuddled down.

"Optimus, who were those bikes?" Rana was speaking quietly, but I could hear her clearly.

"The Arcee triplets. They are Autobots and good friends." His holoform disappeared.

"What was with the 'caress' between the purple bike and Ironhide?" I asked, a smirk tugging at my lips. _There is _so_ a story there! I know it._ The caress, and his sudden interest? _Before_ I mentioned the words 'blow up the building'??

There was a low chuckle. "Chromia, one of Arcee's personalities. She and Ironhide are sparkmates."

"Sparkmates?" Rana was sure feeling inquisitive at this particular time, but as comfortable and tired I was, I was curious myself.

"Life mates of a sort. Soul mates. They are bonded to each other for as long as they both exist."

"So they are married?"

"I suppose a human term for it could be 'marriage', yes."

"Oh, ok. I get their reaction then."

I smiled to myself as everyone went quiet. Feeling the truck stop, I sighed and let go of Star, expecting Rana to take her with them as they left, but instead I heard doors opening and shutting. Peeking one eye open, I raised that eyebrow when I noticed the truck was empty. _Ok then..._ I closed my eyes and sighed, curling up around Star and relaxing some more.

Finally, I felt the blissful darkness of sleep coming over me, and happily succumbed, happy that we'd taken care of more darkness and saved more lives, but at the same time wondering if our quest for the shards would ever end, and just what role the Decepticons played.

* * *

**Note** : I'm tired of utterly evil Decepticons, even if it works in some cases, you know? I like them, depending on the fic, but I thought I'd try my own take. -.-'

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	16. Injured

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

Another town, another infestation.

By this point we'd realized more often than not the shards were showing up in tiny farming villages, with only two real cities being involved. This was one of those two cities, and once again, the Autobots and humans had split up.

Epps and Lennox went with the newly reunited Chromia and Ironhide down in the southern-most point of the city. Bumblebee, Jolt and Arcee were to the west. Flare-up and the 'Vette twins were in the east. Ratchet was still in the previous town watching over Sam, who was still pretty weak, and Mikeala who refused to leave his side.

That left Rana, Star and myself with Optimus backing us up at the northern-most point of the town.

"I am...alarmed at the lack of population in this town." Optimus' steps almost boomed as he walked behind us. "But my sensors are indicating a large mass of unidentifiable energy below the streets. We need to be careful."

"Already got that." I shivered a little, sensing the dark aura all around us, powerful. "I can't pinpoint the shard though. Something's interfering." More like the little flashes of lighter auras all over the place, from animals and such that were still wandering around, were distracting me from focusing on the blackest aura. There were _so_ many, all different shades, both light and dark, and my mind could only do so much to pick each one out.

"Then we will simply help you." Optimus stepped over us as Rana and I stopped, and a little ahead of us. Once a safe distance away, he pulled his fist back, and slammed it into the ground. The ground shook, causing Rana and I to cling to each other to keep our balance, and Star curled around our ankles. He grabbed chunks of the pavement, ripping them away. Then he cried out as thick pinkish tentacles reached out, wrapping around his arms.

"Now!" I grabbed my bow, knocking an arrow and aiming it. It glowed brightly as it flew through the air, slamming into one of the tentacles. I hissed, however, when a black energy seemed to wrap around it. "What the...?" I grabbed and fired another arrow at the dark energy, causing the tentacle to turn to dust around one of Optimus' arms. "It's stronger!" I yelled, grabbing and focusing more of my power into the third arrow as I fired it at the other tentacle.

It wasn't a comforting thought that Optimus with all his great strength, couldn't pull free of them.

"Kendra! Get down!"

I ducked at the words, the fourth arrow in my hand clenched tightly as I looked up. A wind rustled through my hair, and I felt a dark presence fly over my head. And I was right. Looking up, I spotted a tentacle passing _just_ over my head. _Holy hell that was close!_ Lashing out, I slashed at it with my arrow, my heart lurching painfully when I had to hit it twice more to even wound it.

"Why is it stronger?!" I yelped, dashing away, slashing at tentacles dancing all around us.

"Can you sense the shard??"

I ran behind Optimus' foot with Rana, and looked around. "There's so many auras!" I growled a little as my eyes scanned the ground, following the main line of seemingly endless dark auras. "I can't see it!" I saw bright blues, dark violets, darker greens, and greys almost dark enough to be blacks. The latter of which seemed to be the most popular and powerful.

"Look!"

"I _am_ looking!" I knew my eyes were wide, and if my heart still _beat_, it'd be pounding hard enough for even Optimus to feel, from the way my chest was pressed against his ankle as he battled the majority of the tentacles, protecting us.

For a moment, it didn't even sink in. Then I blushed and leaned away, remembering just _how_ sensitive the metallic bodies were. My eyes scanned buildings. Stores, houses and more. Then my eyes roamed over stationary vehicles, and slowly travelled once again to the sewers. "It's gotta be in the sewers! There's nothing more than dogs and rats on the streets!"

"Understood." Optimus' voice boomed loudly as he took a step forward. "More of the creature is emerging, we should move." He stepped back again, his foot hesitating in the air, before I was aware of fingers scooping down. They grabbed up Rana and Star in one hand, and I moved back to allow him to stand, incidentally avoiding his other hand. "Kendra-"

"I need to keep my feet under me." My eyes scanned as I quickly stepped further away, before dashing down the street, the fourth arrow now knocked. I paused at a corner and looked back, raising an eyebrow as Optimus cut off another tentacle. "Are you coming?" A small smirk tickled the edges of my lips, and grew as his own lips turned up in a smirk.

He nodded and stepped my way. "Let us go." He lowered his hand and Rana ran towards me, Star transforming and racing up behind her.

I watched as Rana stopped, climbing onto Star's back, and then they raced my way. _Huh, cool._ Turning back, I ran down the street, yelping as a manhole cover went flying through the air. I saw a tentacle heading my direction and raised my bow, letting the arrow fly after pouring my power into it, and watching the streak of light turn the incoming projectile to dust.

"Behind you!"

I spun, my hand going for another arrow, even as I felt my eyes widening. Another tentacle was coming from a shattered window in a building, pointing straight and sharp, like a blade, and heading straight for me. My fingers wrapped around the arrow, as if in slow motion, and even as I drew it I knew I wasn't going to be fast enough.

I saw the tentacle coming at me, even as I brought the arrow to the bow, a deep gasp escaping me as terror shot up my spine. _Too fast! It's too fast!_ I grasped the string, everything in me screaming for me to jump to the side, but I could feel a cold, dark aura that way, too.

Suddenly, the tentacle was gone. My vision was blocked as black leather and silver metal armored fingers came into view. When they disappeared, I had the bow drawn, but the tentacle was flying through the air. I sensed that, that threat was gone, so spun, letting the arrow fly as a thick glob of..._something_ came shuffling out of one of the buildings.

"There's too many!" Rana was still on Star's back, but had leaned down so her face was pressed against the fox's side, even as a cannon whirled over her head, firing at more. "We need to get out of here!"

I was shooting arrows as fast as I could, pouring my energy into each one, until I began to feel heavy. My body hurt, and I was getting exhausted, even as I drew back the string and let another arrow fly. I had to fight more and more to keep adequate energy in each shot, but it seemed like while my energy was running low, the monsters were still coming. It didn't help I was getting low on arrows.

"Are we making _any_ progress?!" Rana punched at one wobbling glob of flesh, and then rolled out of the way as Star blasted it.

I looked around wildly, panting and leaning against Optimus' temporarily steady foot. "A little!" It was true, too. A lot of the lighter dark auras were gone, but the darkest still remained. "There's something big that way!" I pointed to some yards ahead of us, and began running for it. _If I don't get it now, my energy will be too low!_ As it was, I was beginning to doubt I had enough energy to purify _that_ already. I was weak, as my stumble-trip-dash showed.

"Kendra!"

Optimus was calling to me, and I felt the ground tremble, telling me he was coming my way, but I paid him no heed. I forced power into my bow, using it to knock errant tentacles and monsters away from me as I ducked under projectiles, and barely dodged tentacles.

"Stop! Kendra!"

"Look out!"

"Get down!!"

I spun towards the cry, trying to figure out which of the dozens of monsters and tentacles they were yelling about. I spotted so many heading towards me that it hit me I'd run carelessly into a suicide mission. There was no way I could dodge _all_ those tentacles, but I tried. I ducked under one, spinning and trying to see everywhere at once. Red flashed in my vision, and I rolled away from another, before swinging out and hitting a monster with my bow.

"No!"

A sharp pain hit me in the chest. The red in my vision increased ten fold and I couldn't help but scream.

"Kendra!"

"Raaaaahhh!" A and angry roar, and a blast rocked the area some distance ahead, but my vision was blurring.

Something cold seemed to seep into me. I could feel it spreading, like a horrid chill through my body. Gasping, I felt my legs give out, and a pressure in my mind as my bow clattered to the ground. Something brushed against my throat, but a flash of jagged metal and glowing green eyes, and it was gone. Then warmth wrapped around my arms.

"Kendra! Can you hear me? Ken?"

I blinked, struggling to breathe and clear my vision, but everything remained blurry and began to spin. The cold only grew, until I felt like I was burning, most powerful in my chest. Closing my eyes, I could feel it. Darkness was swirling in my chest, visciously, and I gasped, my eyes shooting back open.

Something warm wrapped around our bodies, and I felt us being lifted. It hit me then that an Autobot was holding me. Breathing heavily, I closed my eyes again, leaning against Rana and frowning. _I can't get warm..._ I shivered, my hands over my chest. Something warm dripped down my hand, which was over where I'd been stabbed, and looking down, I breathed heavily, watching blue-green dripping down my chest. _I'm cold._

We were bouncing around, moving. I felt some of the darkness fading, but when I tried to open my eyes, they were too heavy. My body felt so heavy. Whistles and clicks sounded around me, but they slowly seemed to fade away as I gave in to the peace of sleep.

**(Normal POV)**

Optimus cradled the two tiny human femmes in his hands, Star having tranformed back, sitting on Kendra's lap. He panted heavily as he ran for all their lives, having already called the others. Ironhide, Bumblebee and the Corvette twins were taking care of the monster, while Arcee raced ahead of them to inform Ratchet of the femme's injury. Her sisters were acting as bodyguards, blasting anything heading in their direction.

"She's out! I can't wake her up!" Rana's hands were carefully avoiding the energon leaking from Kendra's wound, her face a mixture of horror and terror. "She's still bleeding, and her body's cold!"

Optimus spared the extra energy it took to materialize his holoform, taking Rana's jacket from around her waist and folding it up, before he placed it over Kendra's shoulder. He scanned her the best he could, eyes narrowing when he realized just how close to her spark the wound was. Luckily, she still had the shards, but the energy output from her spark was lower than it should have been.

_**'Ratchet! When Kendra uses her powers, does it weaken her?'**_ He frowned as he stopped at the city limits, turning to watch as Ironhide blasted the ground again, the twins spinning and jumping, taking out the tentacles. He knew using her powers had to have some affect on her, but was never quite sure _what_ that affect was.

_**'What's this about? Has something happened?'**_ Ratchet's 'voice' was suddenly alert.

_**'She's been injured, but for some reason her body isn't healing her as it usualy would. She is lowing energon and her energy output is lower than it should be. She has lapsed into forced recharge and is not onlining again.'**_ Optimus' optics turned down to the femmes in his hand, and his holoform pressed the cloth to her chest harder, attempting to stem the flow of vital life fluids.

The priestess of old didn't get weak so easily when using her powers, but then, Kendra wasn't the priestess of old. Although, in her robotic form, she did greatly resemble... No. Kendra was born human, never meant for this kind of mission, this kind of stress.

_**'Hmm... I don't like the sound of that. How far are you from base?'**_

He carefully handed the femme over to Flare-up and transformed, ordering a retreat as Flare's human holoform helped the femmes into his cab. _**'I'm uncertain. Hopefully not too far.'**_ He vented quietly. The two organic mechs crawled in behind the femmes, helping to lay Kendra out on the bunk in the back, before looking to her wounds. "Do not get energon on you if you can help it. We do not know how it will affect humans."

They seemed to pause a moment, before nodding over their shoulders at him and returning to work, attempting to clean up the wound the best they could, while making sure she was comfortable.

His spark clenched uncomfortably as his sensors ran over her too still form. "Has she warmed at all?" He turned on the internal heaters.

Will stood slowly, taking the passenger seat and eyeing Star uncertainly a moment, before turning to the dash. "No. It's kinda freaky how cold she is." He shook his head as Epps walked up between the seats and held on to them. "Think she'll be ok?"

"I do not know. We will have to hope Ratchet can help."

The ride went on surprisingly quietly, Rana holding Star close, and Will and Epps taking turns checking on Kendra. Not once on their way back did her condition change, much to everyone's concern.

_**'What could have caused this?'**_ Optimus sent the results of his primitive scans over her body to Ratchet.

There was a hesitation. _**'It looks like her energy levels are low. Indeed, when she uses her powers, she gets weaker. The more she uses them, the weaker she gets. She was unable to purify whatever hit her, which may have something to do with how weak she is now. What about the shard? Were you able to find it?'**_

Optimus frowned, reports rushing through his systems from the others, who were speeding to catch up. _**'No. We were able to take care of most of the dark, mutated creatures, but the shard itself was obscured by forces we were unable to defeat. We were also unable to stay any longer to take care of the rest, because the energy was beginning to sicken my troops.'**_

_**'I understand. Get back here as soon as possible, and if her condition worsens at all, have Jolt take a look at her.'**_

_**'Understood. Optimus out.'**_

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	17. Unusual Confrontations

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Legend** :

"Speaking"

_Thoughts_

_"Cybertronian"_

_**Lyrics/Text Messages/Notes**_

_**'Internal Communications'**_

* * *

**(Kendra's POV)**

Shivering a little, I frowned as the peaceful darkness faded. I wrapped my arms tighter around myself, and slowly dared to peek an eye open, even as I began half blindly groping around for my blankets. _Where are you?_ Finally, I groaned loudly and pushed myself into a sitting position, hissing as my eyes met with bright light, and rubbing at them to ward away the burn.

_I see the light! And it BURNS!!!i_

A small giggle escaped me as Homer Simpson's voice ran through my head, and shook my head as I forced open my eyes once again. Blinking through the light, I frowned as I took in the plain wooden walls of my room. _Huh...My room?_ Pursing my lips a little, I looked down to see myself in my pale pink tank top and shorts, which I usually wore to bed. _But...wasn't I...somewhere else...?_

Something in my mind told me this wasn't where I was supposed to be. Flashes of robots and monsters and bows and arrows flitted through my mind, but I didn't really take it in as my eyes continuously roamed my room. _Just some weird-ass dream._ Part of me wanted to fall back on my bed as relief and worry warred within me. A small laugh escaped me as I stretched a little, licking my lips and glancing briefly at the clock next to my bed, but really ignoring the time.

My eyes ran down my pale legs to where my sheets were bundled up. _Oh. There you are._ Shaking my head, I grabbed the sheets and pulled them over me, laying back down and settling into my comfortable mattress.

Then I shot straight back up, my eyes darting around as I practically leapt from my bed. _Something's wrong!_ My eyes scanned every aspect of my room, even as my heart pounded and I panted for breath. _...Isn't it?_ Everything seemed to be in place. My coat was hanging on the back of my chair, next to my computer. My bow was leaning against the back wall of my closet with a full quiver next to it.

Frowning, I relaxed where I stood, before walking over to the window and looking out it. There were clouds in the sky, but they did little to block out the radiant sun, which lit up the millions of droplets of dew covering the massive front lawn of my home. Everything sparkled, and my eyes could detect nothing out of place here, either. The absolutely normalcy of everything made me feel almost relaxed, even with that niggling suspicion things weren't as right as they seemed.

"So what's wrong?" Leaning on the window sill, I tried to remember my dream. _I was...powerful, and with...robots? Yeah, robots. I don't really..._ "Remember much, but there were friendly robots and enemy robots. I dreamt of going on some life changing quest for some reason or another..." Shaking my head, I laughed a little and straightened up. "Wow, ok. That settles it then. No more cookies before bed."

With a bit of a laugh, I went to my closet and pulled out a slightly pair of baggy khakis and a lose grey t-shirt. Once changed, I went through my normal morning routine before heading outside and standing in the cool morning. "This is nice." Considering my dream, which looked more and more like a nightmare as I thought about it, I found myself sighing happily to realize it had all been nothing more than a weird dream.

_Although the powers and the cool robots weren't so bad._ I pursed my lips as one particular robot flashed across my mind. _But where'd I get the idea of them?_ Raising an eyebrow, I shoot my head and stretched a little more.

A sharp pain ran through my shoulder, and I gasped, clutching at it. Looking over, I frowned, seeing a dark spot of some kind, but a blink and it disappeared. "Ow!" I shook off the odd sight as my imagination. "Must'a pulled something."

Heading out, I began jogging up the long dirt road to the main sideroad I lived on. _I wonder if the girls are home. Maybe we can hang out later._ I passed over the culvert that covered the small pond, and headed down the trail, glancing briefly at the raspberry and choke cherry bushes. _They'd _love_ to hear about this dream!_ It took me a few minutes to get to the road, and I checked my mail, finding nothing unusual, before continuing on.

"Ah, just what I needed. A good morning run." I smiled as a breathed heavily, passing under apple trees and watching a rabbit, some distance ahead, race across the road. I couldn't remember being so happy and relieved, as strange as it sounded, but then... When I thought about the horrors I was dealing with in my dream, I couldn't imagine willingly taking them on.

I shuddered a little. _Willingly? No. I was forced into it, more or less. Tossed into the deep end of a swimming pool and told to sink or swim._ If I didn't fight, I _might_ have had a chance to live a normal life, but what about everyone else? _I could have said to hell with everyone else._ I'd been chosen for a reason. _And if I didn't fight, it could very well be the end of the world._ That's all... That was more or less all I could remember. I was chosen for a big mission, had powers, was changing or had changed into something, met up with other humans and giant alien robots.

_Ugh, what am I thinking? It was just a dream! _"Talk about unbelievable." I shook my head, jogging further down the road, before slowing again. Then I paused, my eyes widening. "What...?"

A tiny fox kit of pure silver walked casually across the road after the rabbit, twin tails swinging happily behind it and green eyes fixed on it's prey. It never once glanced my way, and it was only there for a moment, before it disappeared again.

"A fox with..._two_ tails?" An image flashed across my mind of an identical one in my dream, that turned into a larger metallic equivalent. Blinking a moment, I pursed my lips and shook my head, before continuing my jog. _Food poisoning. I ate something that didn't agree with me, and I'm seeing things._ I made it to the main road, pausing as a Honda Civic drove past, before looking either way down the seemingly endless black pavement.

_To continue or not to continue. That is the question._ After a moment, my mind drifted back to my bows and arrows sitting in my closet and I felt a smile crossing my face as I turned and began jogging back down the road to my house. _To practice, it is._

By the time I got back, I needed a few moments to catch my breath. I sat on the front porch, my eyes drifting over the massive green lawn, to the targets nailed to the distant treeline. I felt a nearly overwhelming urge to race upstairs and grab my bow, working on my archery, but I leaned back against the rail of the porch, taking in the sun.

After all, there was no hurry.

"Just gonna relax for a bit." I closed my eyes, rubbing at a cold spot on my chest.

**(Normal POV)**

"It's not unsimilar to a coma, as far as I can tell. She's not worsening, but she's not recovering either." Ratchet frowned deeply as he folded his arms over his chest and stared up at Optimus. "Her body was too weak to fight off the powerful dark aura. It seems to have spread just enough to hinder her healing. My guess would be, given time she will recover, but I will need to keep a close eye on her."

"Until then, we need to get that shard." Ironhide's tone was grim. "We fought the darkness, but if we leave it until Kendra recovers-" The 'if she recovers' was silent, but everyone still felt it's heavy presence. "-it will only grow to it's full strength again."

"Agreed. We need to keep fighting, but do not strain yourself." Optimus' optics danced over to his weapons specialist grimly.

_**Danger! Danger!**_ The sudden blast from Bumblebee's radio startled everyone, who quickly turned to the young scout as he ran over. _**'Long range sensors indicate a single Decepticon energy signal heading towards the town. They are too far out to pick up on our presence.'**_

"We should greet them." Ironhide's optics flashed and a smirk curled at his lips.

Frowning, Optimus shook his head slowly. _Only one signal...?_ "No." His optics narrowed when Ironhide opened his mouth, undoubtedly to argue, and he raised an optic ridge. "Megatron is dead, I would like to at least _try_ to keep a new war with the Decepticons from happening, if at all possible."

"With Starscream in the lead?"

"You saw it with Megatron. Though they followed him, but some were quite bold about how unhappy they were about it. I would like to...greet this Decepticon alone, and speak with them."

Ironhide growled. "And if it's Starscream?? Have you been spending too much time in the dark city? You're processors are obviously glitching." He snorted a little, and rolled his optics, not bothering to hide what he truly thought of his leader's plan.

"If it's Starscream, you will be nearby to run interference. I do have a plan." Optimus huffed a little, before calling Sunstreaker and Sideswipe over, as well as Jolt. He ordered Bumblebee back to his patrols before sharing his plan with the others and departing. He made his way quickly and silently to the edge of the dark border, directly in the path of the oncoming Decepticon, before transforming and waiting.

He was all too aware of the others a safe distance away, just out of normal sensor range, straining their own sensors to pick up any sign of threat. He stood steadily, confident as the signal hit his own sensors, approaching fast. Before long, he could make out the form of a law enforcement cruiser heading his way.

Then with a spin and a quickly flash of rearranging parts, Barricade stood before him. _"I should have known the Autoscum would be here." _He sneered, staying a wary distance back. He looked around then. _"All alone? Where's your backup?"_

_"I'm not here to fight."_ Optimus watched as Barricade's head spun towards him, a look of blatant disbelief crossing his features. _"I am here to speak only. You are there... Undoubtedly you've sensed the power of an allspark shard."_

The Decepticon could not help the snort that passed his lip plates at the obviousness of that statement. _"And what's it to you?"_

_"The battle is done. Megatron is dead. I do not wish for a new war, but I am afraid I cannot allow you to go near that shard."_

Barricade's optics narrowed dangerously, flashing to a darker shade of crimson as he snarled. _"You won't allow me?" _Taking a step forward, he crouched low. _"I don't require your permission, Autobot!"_

_"I meant no offence, Barricade." _Optimus sighed and shook his head, remaining where he stood and not bothering to arm himself. _"Have you noticed anything unusual about Starscream since he came into ownership of four shards?" _Watching as the 'Con seemed to rear back slightly, he nodded. _"He might have seemed...darker, more malicious?"_

_"Starscream is as bloodthirsty as they come. I don't think he can get any 'darker' or 'more malicious'. The only one to surpass even him was Megatron."_

_"Perhaps, but you have noticed something is off." _Frowning Optimus gazed towards the city. _"Have you sensed the aura of this place? Can you honestly tell me you don't believe something is seriously wrong?"_

_"If Starscream is too weak to handle the power of-"_

_"Strength has nothing to do with it." _Turning back, blue optics narrowed at crimson. _"Even the most powerful cannot fight the power of the corrupted shards. Have you ever heard of the legend of 'The Priestess'? The quest that supposedly took place millenia ago on Cybertron, when the allspark was once before thrust into the chest of a powerful evil?"_

_"The allspark shattered, the shards containing powerful evil." _He nodded, a look of suspicion filling his eyes. _"What's that got to-" _He paused a moment, blinking, before he barked out a sharp laugh._ "You expect me to believe that's happening again?"_

_"Is not not alarmingly similar? All forces coming into contact with the shards are turning evil, or becoming mutated by them. Humans, animals, and Cybertronians alike are all transforming, losing themselves."_

_"Except you, right? The all mighty Optimus Prime is the only one able to withstand the powerful evil? Am I to believe your lies?" _Barricade's optics showed his thoughts on all this, his disdain and disgust. _"Get out of my way, I have a mission to finish."_

_"I am no different." _Optimus didn't miss the way Barricade froze, having not expected the admittion. _"I very nearly lost my own sanity to the shards I held." _He watched as Barricade's optic ridge slowly rose in disbelief. _"I have Samuel James Witwicky to thank for my life. He, a human boy, took on the shards in order to save me, very nearly giving up his life in the process. Tell me Barricade, do you wish to lose your sanity? Control over your own body?"_

The Decepticon paused, his head tilting slightly. Part of him wanted to blast the Autobot leader into space, growling a little at the words his enemy was spewing. The other part was stuck, listening to his words and begrudginly admitting that they had truth to them. He could feel the darkness before him, and _had_ noticed Starscream was...worse than usual, though he never would have thought it possible.

_"All who come into contact with the shard become tainted by the energies and eventually become monsters." _Sighing heavily, Optimus shuttered his optics for a moment, before opening them. _"The shard in this town is especially powerful. We fought it's power, many Autobots, and even the priestess..." _He looked out towards the city once again, his spark clenching uncomfortably. _"And yet our priestess has been badly injured and we were unable to obtain and purify the shard."_

_"P..." _Barricade's optics had widened considerably. _"Priestess??" _He seemed to take that in. _"So... Femmes have survived the war." _He was almost disgusted with how pleased he was with that idea.

_"Well...yes and no."_

_"'Yes and no'? That wasn't a 'yes and no' question." _The low snarl almost startled the Autobot leader. _"Have they, or have they not survived?"_

_"Autobot femmes did survive, yes. Only just recently did a few come to earth." _There was no need to tell him _how_ many. _"But the priestess herself was born human, and only recently transformed into an Autobot femme."_

Barricade reeled back, clearly shocked at the words. He stared at Optimus, torn between believing him, and laughing in his face at the absurdity of the words he'd just spoken. _"A human femme turned into a Cybertonian?!" _He shook his head.

_"It is the allspark. You doubt it's power?"_

Pausing once again, the 'Con's lip turned up in a sneer. _So the power is changing Starscream, and would put my own body at risk. The _priestess_ exists, but is...badly injured...?_ Optics darted to the city and the sheer power of the aura had Barricade shuddering slightly within his armor. He couldn't _see_ anything, but what he could _feel_... _I have to see this with my own optics. I'll remain back for now, and follow them._

_"Don't think of trying anything. I'll be around, Autobot."_

Turning, he began to walk off, sending alerts to select Decepticons about the danger of the power of the shards, before transforming and driving away. He grumbled to him self as he left, his enemy still standing. His sensors remained fixed on Optimus Prime as he left, however, fully expecting to be blasted in the back, but when he wasn't, he began to think over what he was told.

Perhaps he underestimated the dangers in this mission.

Yes, he would watch. He wanted to see this 'priestess' for himself.

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	18. Waking Up

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Kendra's POV)**

"So... What's new?" One of my friends, Julia, snickered a little as she took a drink. "Merrick still on your tail?"

I couldn't help but shudder a little, even as I laughed. I kicked at her from across the picnic bench, before sighing a little and looking around the park. Merrick was a rather attractive, rather _vain_ young man who'd recently seemed to develop an attraction to me. As much as I tried to discourage him, short of outright telling him off, he always seemed to refuse to get the hint. "I haven't seen Merrick in some time." Frowning a little, I turned back towards them, my eyes only hesitating slightly on a rather tousled looking brunette man, whose blue eyes were flashing around alertly as he walked on, dressed in yellow pants and a tan button up shirt. _Why do I feel like I know him? Ah, never mind, just that stupid dream still_.

"I'm...a little nervous about the archery competition." _Not to mention, I can't get over this feeling that something's horribly wrong._ Rubbing at the aching spot on my chest, I shrugged at their looks. "It's only like what...my second competition?" I laughed nervously.

"Oh, come on, you've been practicing for _how_ long? I'm just sorry we have the cheerleading competition at the same time." Sandra shook her head, pursing her lips almost sadly. "It woulda been cool to watch you kick ass, not to mention, at least we could make sure you don't end up looking like a homeless person."

"Gee, thanks for the support." I shot back sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "And here I was planning on wearing my PJs, with my hair in a rats nest." Seeing their almost identical looks of horror, I couldn't help but laugh. "God, it's fun messing with you!"

Julia made a face before shaking her head, her short red hair bouncing with the movement, blowing out of her face as a cool wind blew past us. "Yeah. And we're all going, even the backups, so there's no getting out of it that easily." She almost winced.

"Hey! That's ok. You'll win and you can show us the trophy when we get back!"

I couldn't help but laugh again as the girls suddenly perked up, certain I was going to win. Their hyperactive moods were contagious, and considering I was already in a good mood, I was practically on cloud nine. At least until that nagging suspicion returned, that something was wrong.

_Oh, come on! Things are happy and good. _Why_ can't I lose that weird feeling?!_ Anger rushed through me before I shook my head, pushing it aside, and focused on the conversation at hand. "I dunno. There's a whole lot of amazing archers out there." I could feel the heat emanating from my cheeks as I looked away.

I watched as two gorgeous Corvettes race by, only to squeal to a stop next to the park. They were silver and gold, and they were brand new models, by the looks of it. "Oh, wow!" I pointed to the cars as two blonde boys, identical in looks climbed out. _Twins..._ Something made me frown. _Didn't I dream of...twins...?_ Shaking my head, I blinked and forced a smile, once again rubbing at my chest. "Aren't those gorgeous cars?"

"Oh wow, 2009 Corvette Stingray concepts!" I watched as my friends pulled out their cameras and phones and began snapping pictures, before the twin blonde boys got back into their cars and drove off.

"Oh, crap! Someone's in shiiiiitttt!" Julia sang slightly as she pointed to one of the blue and white cruiser on it's way past, lights whirlling as it sped down the road with abandon.

"Huh, wonder who did what?" Shaking my head, I stood up, wincing again when I couldn't shake the annoying feeling that something wasn't right. I looked around, but nothing really stood out. _At least on the upside, I'm getting used to these weird pains in my chest._

"Hey, Ken, you ok?"

Looking over, I spotted Sandra's confused look. "Huh, oh. I'm fine. Why? Oh!!" I giggled a little as I shook my head, throwing the strap of my purse over my shoulder. "Really. I'm really fine." _Except for this feeling that there's something I'm supposed to be doing._ "C'mon, we're gonna be late to the skate park."

"Yeah." Julia tossed her drink container in the garbage before leading the way to the parking lot where her Dodge Ram 3500, Laramie SLT Sport stood, gleaming bright white in the sun. She hopped into the driver seat, with Sandra hopping into the passenger seat and scooting over.

I was right behind them, intending to hop into the last spot when something caught my eye.

Unruly black hair and bright blue eyes were focused on me. It was a man, standing across the street at a corner. He wore dark bue jeans with a deep red shirt, with a strange insignia on his shoulder, his form long and lean.

"Kendra?"

He blinked a little, but it didn't serve to break our impromptu staring contest. Seeing that he had my attention, he raised a hand, and I gasped at what he was holding.

"What is it?"

A chain dangled from his closed fist, and I blinked as the sunlight gleamed off the shards of metal hanging from it. The feeling of something being horribly wrong suddenly hit me once again, even stronger. When I looked over again, it hit me that everything almost seemed to glow. Well, _almost_ everything. Sandra and Julia were glowing, but the auras around them were translucent. In fact, most of the auras around me were varying shades of white, or silver, all of which were light.

That wasn't right. There was no color to most of those auras, and that just didn't seem natural.

And then there was that strange...familiar man.

"Kendra, what's wrong?!"

The man holding the necklace wasn't glowing at all.

_Every living thing has an aura._

**Flashback**

A large, almost regal looking blue and red flame decaled robot, an...Autobot, transformed ahead of us. His form compressed down, parts rearranging until I was no longer faced with a robot, but a blue and red flame decaled Peterbuilt semi cab, that quickly took to the road, driving itself.

**End flashback**

But that had been part of my dream...hadn't it?

"Hey!" Hands were on me, shaking me. "Kendra! Snap out of it! What's wrong? What're you staring at?"

The man didn't glow, but the truck parked on the curb did. It glowed brightly, one of the brightest blues I'd ever seen, and the necklace hanging in his grasp was a darker shade of the same blue. Both seemed to draw me in.

There was a sudden agonizing pain in my chest, and I couldn't help but cry out, as I grasped at the spot. I felt my legs give out, everything going dark as I collapsed to my knees, clutching the paining area. _What's going on...?_ I looked over, watching the black spot in my chest as it seemed to glow deep black, before lightening a little. _Something's wrong._

Looking up again, I blinked, taking in that my friends were leaning over me, calling to me.

"I was right." I ignored them as I slowly stood, gritting my teeth against the white hot pain of whatever was hurting me. "Something's not right. I don't belong here." Panic and determination warred within me as I tried to make sense of all this. "Oh my god... It wasn't a dream at all!" I was filled with shock, annoyance and horror.

"Finally." Julia smiled and straightened. "I wondered if you'd ever figure it out. You've already been here too long."

Frowning, I watched as she blinked, her eyes glowing bright blue. "What..." Suddenly, it all came rushing back. My memories, everything I'd thought was a dream... _Yeah, definitely _too_ weird for a dream. _"What am I doing here? Who are you?!"

"They need you. They can't win this war alone, they need the priestess, and there's only _one_ priestess." Sandra stood next to Julia, her eyes gentle and blue. "So many lives depend on you. You never asked for this, we know, and we're sorry, but it always had to be you."

"Me? Why _me_?! I never asked for this!" Although if I was being completely honest, I couldn't regret _everything_. I could have done without the transformation, or the huge powers, countless monsters, and all the innocent people dying. But meeting the Autobots? Rana? Sam, Mikeala, Will and Epps? That was probably the one thing I didn't regret.

Ok, well that and the fact that I knew I was saving lives.

But still... "Why was it always 'supposed' to be me?"

Something flashed in the corner of my eye, and I looked over, gasping. Everything had faded, but for the image of the man, holoform Optimus, with the shards in his hand. Behind him stood a robot. It was shaped differently from the others I'd seen, more slender and curvy. Then it hit me, that robot was a femme, and remarkably...she looked similar to me when I was in robot form.

Frighteningly similar.

"Who are you?" The voice was velvet smooth and deep, almost gently brushing against me. "Why are you here?"

I frowned, looking over at my friends, only to find a bow and arrows on the ground and a distant target. Walking over, I picked them up, slinging the quiver over my shoulder and across my back with practiced ease. _This feels...right._ I could relax a little with something familiar. "I..." I honestly didn't know the answer to that question. What _was_ I doing here?

"Shoot it."

I looked forward again, only to do a double take. The target had changed. Instead of the normal targets used for archery, this one was a bullseye with a glowing orb of light in the center. I didn't know what it was, but it looked horribly important, but all around it were waves of darkness, slowly tightening in.

I cried out again as another wave of agony hit me.

"Can you hit the darkness? Can you save yourself? Or will you fail, missing the darkness and hitting your own spark? Will you kill me?"

I blinked, looking over and blinking through my pain. "What?"

"Will you save me or kill me?" She tilted her head curiously.

"Who _are _you?" Another wave of pain, and I crashed once again to my knees, gasping for breath as my free hand clutched at my chest.

"Isn't it obvious?"

There was a sense of familiarity about her. My eyes widened a little as a possibility hit me. "No." There was a lot I could take, considering everything, but _this_? "No fricken way!"

"It's true. Now shoot, or we both die and all is lost."

Gasping for breath, I looked up, noticing as the nearest dark aura had gotten even closer to the spark glowing at the center of the target. Slowly standing, I breathed harshly, feeling for all the world like my lungs weren't taking in enough air. I pointed the bow at the ground as I grabbed an arrow and slowly took aim. _It's so close..._

"If you fail, we'll both die. If you don't _try_, we'll both die."

"No pressure, huh?" I shot back sarcastically, rolling my eyes as I closed one eye and squinted the other. "I get the point. Shut up and let me focus." As I pulled back on the arrow, I felt the warmth of my power surging through me. It was foreign, and...unexpected. _Is that really....me?_ Frowning, I shook my head and aimed carefully. _It's gonna be close. Come on.... Please...hit the mark!_ I aimed just to the left of the glowing spark, and released. "Oh God, I'm gonna die."

The arrow streaked, a single glowing light in an ever increasing darkness. It was a light I'd strangely enough missed. As it hit the target, I could only gasp as heat rolled through my body, chasing the pain away. A bright light flashed, and I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling like I was falling.

"Very good. Now, go back and win this war!"

**(Normal POV)**

Ratchet crouched over the small, surprisingly fragile looking femme, scanning her body once again. However, instead of yielding the usual, alarming results of her body growing ever weaker, he pulled back sharply, venting loudly enough to draw the attention of the humans and Autobots around him. Before he could even blink, Rana and Star were at Kendra's side, and Optimus' hand was on his shoulder.

"What is it?" The tone was calm but urgent.

Raising an optic ridge, Ratchet found the corners of his lips turning up as relief coursed through him. "She's healing. In fact, her body's made great strides since my last scan. I wouldn't be surprised if she awakens soon."

"Really?!" Rana smiled widely, before hugging Star tightly and smiling up at them.

Even Optimus seemed to sag in relief, chuckling a little as he took in the femme before him. She was not nearly as pale as before, and he saw that the extra blankets that had been draped across her body before were now pushed back, telling him she was warmer than she had been before. He spotted the shards resting against her throat, and his own lips turned up in a smile.

"Let's hope she continues to improve, and Barricade doesn't decide to try anything with her." Ironhide griped pointedly.

Shooting his weapons specialist a look, Optimus' smile faded. "He presented no threat to me, so I returned the favor. I sincerely doubt he'll harm the priestess, but even if he _did_ plan to harm her, we outnumber him easily." His own optics glanced around to the numerous Autobots and human milling around. "There is no threat here to our allies."

"He could tell Starscream."

"Tell him what?" Standing slowly, Optimus rounded on his old friend. "That we have four shards? That we have a base of operations near a city with an extraordinarily large shard? That we're working with humans? That we have the priestess? Tell me what Barricade can tell Starscream, that he doesn't already know." He vented and shook his head. "Barricade's mission was to take the shard. If he reports back without it, he'll only be punished."

"Boss man's right." Sideswipe sidled up next to them. "There's no threat in letting one Decepti-loser follow us around. He's as harmless as a flea."

"And about as annoying as one, too." Sunstreaker added in with a look. "We need to move on the shard again, it's power is building. If we don't keep it weaker for the priestess, we'll only end up back here once again." He grabbed Sideswipe's arm and dragged him off, with only a slight glance at the femme on the bunk.

"Be wary you two." Optimus urged slightly.

"Ow."

The voice was low, and would not have caught his attention if it hadn't been one he hadn't heard in far too long. Turning, he looked down, his optics landing on the femme as she stirred in the bed, her eyes slowly opening.

"Geez, did anyone get the number of the semi that ran me over?" Blinking a moment, she looked up at him, and seemed to balk. "Um, never mind." She winced when Rana burst out into full laughter, falling against Star as she giggled loudly. "Oh hello migraine." She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Long time no see, old friend."

"Sorry." Rana murmured with a laugh.

"Mind keeping it down over there? Some of us are trying to sleep." Sam grumbled from his cot next to the priestess'.

Mikeala gasped and practically launched herself at his side. "Sam!" She had her arms around his neck before he could even open his eyes, and was hugging him tightly.

_This has been a good day._ They might not have gotten the shard, but two allies had healed and awoken. That was definitely a step in the right direction. Optimus smiled as he took in his friends recovering from their injuries. He, too, sensed Barricade some distance away, but remained silent, knowing the Decepticon youngling had been raised on the same legends as the rest of them, and knowing he wanted to see the priestess for himself. _I am glad they're ok._ His eyes roamed over Sam, taking in the boy's paler than usual skin tone, but the way he smiled strongly, stroking Mikeala's hair as the girl had her face buried in his neck. Kendra wasn't much different, with Star in her fox kit form, curled up on one side, and Rana clutching tightly at her from the other.

"That really hurt." Kendra murmured, rubbing at her chest. "Did we get the shard?"

With a sigh, Optimus shook his head, crouching back down to fill her in on what's happened since she collapsed unconconsious.

* * *

**Note** : "...as harmless as a flea" .... Wow, am I the only one who just got a mental image of Barricade in bipedal mode, hopping around on all four feet? *Dies laughing*

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	19. Discussions

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

_I need more power..._ Crimson optics darted around the throne room, not surprised but definitely disappointed to find no one else there._ The shards have settled. Why haven't the others found more?_ He stood up from the throne and quickly climbed down the stairs, crossing the room in no time and exiting out the door to find his trine mates, smirking to see them both cringing in pain, but remaining quiet about it. _My power's growing, excellent._

_"M-Mast...Master..."_ Thundercracker growled slightly, before slowly lowering to one knee, his optics glaring up at the bot in front of him.

_Anger and hate... Good, they only feel the power._ With a smirk, Starscream held out a hand, his fingers curling a little, before he raised it, feeling the icy power flow through him as Thundercracker rose back to his feet. _"Get me more shards. I don't care what it takes."_ With a snarl, he turned and stalked back into the room, making his way back to the throne and settling down.

Thundercracker stood there for a moment, his body visibly shaking, before he turned and stalked off down the hall.

_"'Cracker?"_ Skywarp slowly and shakily walked behind him.

_"Can't fight it..."_ There was a low snarl. _"Whatever this...is... It's...like nothing I could have...imagined."_ He shuddered again, before his optics slightly glazed. He picked up his speed and didn't speak again, leaving Skywarp behind.

Watching his trine mate disappear, he looked over his shoulder before peering back. He spotted Soundwave walking in his direction and quickly approached the ever emotionless Decepticon. _"We may...have an issue."_ The red visor gave nothing away as the large Decepticon looked down at him, remaining silent. The birds on his shoulders chirped almost tauntingly amongst themselves, fluttering a little, before settling back down again. _"Something's wrong with 'Screamer. He's..._ He grimaced and grabbed his head, shaking it violently. _"He's not himself, and it's...transferring to us."_

_"And you're telling me this...why?"_

While there was no hint of emotion in his voice, Skywarp knew he had Soundwave's attention. He sent the bot a data burst he'd intercepted earlier from Barricade, about a 'priestess'. _"Doesn't this sound familiar?"_ He hissed, his spark clenching uncomfortably. _"If he's right... Starscream will go mad with power, and we're _all_ in danger."_

_"He is our leader."_

_"Is he really? Would you follow him to your doom? He's my trine mate, but he's _controlling_ me." _The seeker gasped in pain, his fingers clenching around his head, before he suddenly straightened. A glazed look had crossed his features and he turned on his heel, without another word and walked back to the door, standing in front of it and staring blankly at the wall.

With the tips of his lips curling down, Soundwave stood in the hall, staring at the seeker._ It is true something is wrong._ His optics danced to the door behind his visor._ Starscream has been different, but Barricade has already told us this._ He was more than aware that only certain Decepticons were privy to the news about the priestess and the Autobots, but if Sywarp knew... _He's been able to intercept transmissions._

But that wasn't his ability. That was _his_, Soundwave's.

Turning on his heel, he walked back down the hall, calling his casettes to him as he headed to the entrance of the base. _I will alert Barricade to the leak in information, personally. I wish to see this priestess for myself._ He masked his energy signature and took off down a barely visible trail, taking the memorized path to a highway, and then setting a course for Barricade's position.

**(Kendra's POV)**

Frowning, I turned around and presented Ratchet with my back, before rolling my eyes. I was in my robotic bipedal mode, and I tilted my head as I felt Ratchet's fingers probing at my armor. "So are the Decepticons gonna be a problem?"

"Ask Optimus. Turn around, please?"

I turned again, giggling a little. "What? Not done poking and prodding at me?" Raising an eyebrow, I looked over to where Optimus seemed to be in conversation with Arcee. Biting my lip, I tried to ignore the way my heart clenched with how comfortable they looked together. _I feel like such an outsider. Born human but not anymore. Not born Cybertronian, but..._ I sort of felt like a baby compared to the others, with how little I knew about their culture. "Why can't you tell me?"

There was a sigh, and I turned to find Ratchet leaning back, staring at me. "Because I honestly don't know. A lifetime of war has practically beaten into my processors that any Decepticon nearby is a threat. Optimus seems to believe there may be a chance for peace, especially with everything else going on."

I nodded a little. "I can understand both those points." Patting his shoulder, I offered the medic a smile. "All you have to do is keep your guard up around them until you've decided for yourself if they're a threat or not." Brushing my hand over my necklace, which changed with the rest of my body, I grasped at the shards. "We should get that large shard as soon as possible."

"Well, I can find nothing physically wrong with you. Whatever it was that was keeping you weak, you've overcome it."

Pursing my lips a little, I looked down. "I think I have...uh, myself....um...to thank for that." I frowned. "I saw a bot. A femme. She looked remarkably like me, but different. She told me to shoot a target, that had my spark glowing in the center, and waves of darkness approaching it on all sides."

"I am uncertain about your dream, but the femme you're describing sounds a lot like the legendary priestess of Cybertron." Ratchet's voice softened. "In your human form, you resemble a human, but are not familiar to our past in any way." He looked away a moment before looking back. "But when you transform, you greatly resemble the priestess of the past, who went on this very same journey millenia ago."

"Is that why no one's protested my staying in my human form so much?" I couldn't help but smile, although it was more incredulous and shocked than anything. When I'd first transformed, the Autobots all seemed horribly shocked.

Well, the ones that knew of the legend of the past, anyways. They said it was nothing, that they just weren't expecting any of this, but I could tell they were hiding something. Ratchet didn't seem happy with my choice to remain in human form, but it was more because he wanted me to have practice and experience in my robotic form. The others didn't even seem to blink, before allowing me to remain...me.

He hesitated, before nodding. "Yes. It was...awkward. Each time we see you, we see _you_ more than her, but it is hard not to recall her when seeing you, even now. Time will get us beyond that obstacle, but it is..."

"Imagine my perspective." I sighed. "I just met...myself...from the past. She told me this quest has always... It was always 'had to be me'." I raised my hands into the air to make air quotes. "I mean... Was I Cybertronian in a past life, or something?"

"None of us have ever visited the Matrix." Ratchet shrugged a little. "So we really can't say. It is entirely possible once a body dies, that it's energy can move on to a new plane, possibly even be born again. I've never heard of a Cybertronian being reincarnated as a human-turned-Cybertronian, but I suppose it is entirely possible."

With a nod, I reached forward and hugged him slightly, feeling him start. When I pulled back, I smiled at the look of shock on his face. "Thank you, Ratchet." Turning, I steeled myself and slowly approached Optimus Prime. I watched as Arcee laughed at something before gazing my way. I smiled at her welcoming smile, before allowing the smile to fade as I turned to Optimus.

He had been smiling too, but at the sight of whatever my expression showed, his own look seemed to darken slightly, and his smile faded. I could have been imagining the look of hurt that passed through his face, but a small part of me doubted it. "Kendra. It is good to see you up again."

"It's good to _be_ up again."

He nodded. "Ratchet sent me a data burst of your conversation. You actually _met_ the priestess of old?"

"Well, sort of. I was...living in a dream." I felt ashamed I'd so easily believed that world, but so much happened in this one that would normally be beyond impossible... "I was talking to my friends in the park when I saw..." I glanced up and around, feeling almost eternally grateful to Arcee, who'd disappeared to chat with Bumblebee some distance away.

"What did you see?" Optimus took a step closer, peering down at me as he tilted his head curiously.

"You." I felt my cheeks warm, and my cooling fans switch on in embarrassment. "I saw you, in your holoform, standing across the street." My eyes were glued to the ground. "You know, I never even realized it when I saw Star, or the twins, or Prowl. When I saw you, holding the necklace, it was like everything came flying back to me. All my memories."

"You lost your memories?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Sort of. I lost a lot of my memories back to well before I got the shard. The ones I did remember were faded, and it all seemed like a crazy dream."

"Alright." He was frowning slightly. "I hardly see how _I_ relate to the priestess from the past."

"You started it." He tilted his head, and I sighed, tilting my head back to stare him in the eye. "I recognized you and the shards, and all my memories came back. Then my friends started talking weird, telling me it 'always had to be me' that went on this mission. Then I saw this other robot, who looks disturbingly familiar to me..." I began explaining about the bow and the target, shivering a little when I realized how close it had been.

"She told me if I missed the darkness or struck the spark, we'd both die. If I didn't try, we'd both die. She asked if I'd succeed or kill her trying. It was all so confusing, before I realized who she was. It was...awkward."

He nodded. "I can imagine. Did she say anything else?"

Shaking my head, I sighed again. "Nothing important." Pursing my lips, it suddenly hit me how close we were. From my time with the Autobots, I'd learned they weren't overly touchy feely with each other, unless they were bonded in some way like the twins, the triplets and Ironhide and Chromia. I actually had to stop myself from taking a step back, feeling the warmth radiating from his body as he towered over me.

_Right. Need to focus._ "How's Sam?"

Optimus turned his head away, his eyes darting around before seemingly focusing on something. "It seems the allspark radiation within his body has allowed him to heal faster than norm. He's also developed slight healing powers like your own, though it's not as strong. He's not changing, and he seems to have grown impervious to the dark auras."

"That's a good thing." I nodded a little. "Can he purify?" When Optimus shook his head, I sighed. "Alright, what about the Decepticon?"

"It _was_ just one, but sensors indicate another has joined him. The others are...wary, and nervous about having the enemy so close, but neither have moved on us, and we still outnumber them." He frowned deeply, before his eyes dropped to the ground, his aura darkening slightly. "I allowed the enemy to approach and walk away. Some of my troops believe I made a great error in doing so."

I could hear the hidden question in his words, asking me what I thought. "I dunno the Decepticons. I can't tell you if they'll attack or not." Shrugging a little, I sighed. "Optimus?" When he looked up at me, I had to shake my head to clear it of the image of a boy who'd been sent to the principal's office. "I'll tell you more or less what I told Ratchet. Give it time. You've thrown them the proverbial bone, and now the ball's in their court."

"A bone is not a ball, and I don't believe a 'court' has been involved at all." He tilted his head a little.

Laughter erupted from me before I even felt it coming. Part of me occasionally found their denseness annoying, but more often than not it was highly amusing. Shaking my head again, I clutched at my chassis as it heaved with the laughter. "Not what I meant, sorry." I looked up again, and blinked, watching as Optimus' eyes locked on my heaving chest, before he looked away, almost looking embarrassed. _Was he just checking me out?_

I could only blink, even as a wave of heat engulfed my cheeks. _Autobots 'chests' don't have breasts._ But they did contain sparks, which apparently were important for not only living, but breeding as well. _Thank you Ratchet for the anatomy lesson and emotional scarring. I _will_ get you back for that. Somehow._ "Um..." Gazing at the ground, I spotted two human soldiers walking along the path. "I meant..." _Oh, right._

"I meant, you made the first move, showing them a sign of peace. Now it's up to them to decide what to do with that." Nodding a little to myself, satisfied I explained it clear enough without falling on more slang they wouldn't understand, I looked up again. "Now, about that shard..."

Optimus' eyes widened and he turned towards me. "Yes, the shard. We've been taking turns fighting it and trying to keep it's energy weak."

"And you've been failing." I had to bite my lip at the shock, concern and disappointment that flew through Optimus' face, but he deserved the truth. "Optimus, only one with powers like me can purify and keep the energy weak. You've been keeping down the number of enemies we'll have to face, but the auras have gained back all their strength. Remember, just because you take out one monster, doesn't mean it's gone for good. It's energies are still there."

"Oh slag." He groaned, running a hand along his face. "So you mean to say I've been putting my troops in danger for nothing?"

"No. Did you not hear me a moment ago?" I raised an eyebrow. "You've kept down the number of enemies, making getting to the shard easier. It won't be simple, but it should go better than last time."

He nodded, mollified by my words. "Especially since we have help this time."

We both turned towards the dark city. While he couldn't see the blackness hanging over the empty buildings, he could feel it, and the way his body went rigid told me the feeling frightened him about as much as me.

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	20. Truce?

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Kendra's POV)**

I looked down at the 'extra large' shard in my hand, raising one eyebrow, before looking back up at Optimus. It had been hel to get, but with our allies here, and the foes reduced due to previous attacks, we'd managed with very few injuries. "Well, this is...disappointing." Seeing an energon leak in his arm, I frowned and leaned forward, using my power to heal him a little, and shuddering at how weird it still felt. "This is...extra _large_? Just how damn big _is_ the allspark?"

Optimus was also staring at the shard in shock, before he glanced around at the almost ankle deep pile of dust all around us. His energon sword seemed to glow briefly, before he subspaced it again, and frowned. "I was...expecting more."

"You and me both. Geez, it's so..._small_!" I held what appeared to be a corner of a cube in two fingers, looking down at the humans at my ankles and shrugging a little. I blushed -as the cooling fans in my face that suddenly kicked in proved- and stuck my tongue out at Mikeala, who snickered at my words, when I realized how it had sounded, but cleared my throat and continued on. "All that work, and all that power, from _this_?!" _Well, I suppose it _is_ bigger._ After all, it was a corner instead of just a flat piece.

"The cube itself was much larger. If this was to blame for all of this chaos, then it appears our fears have been recognized." Sighing, Optimus shook his head. "The allspark has shattered into even more shards than we originally thought."

Staring at the tiny cube corner in my fingers, I frowned. _So I guess I might as well put it with the others, except..._ It was larger than the others, and there was no conceivable way to carry it in my human form, without drawing a lot of unwanted attention. I could carry it in a cargo hold in my bipedal or alternate forms, but if I were to need to change quickly...

Looking up, I shrugged again, this time to myself, and held out the shard. "You hold on to this." I watched as he blinked down at me in shock, before his eyes went down to the shard. "Look, I can't hold onto it, with my constantly turning into my human form-"

"Then don't turn human." Sunstreaker snipped from beside his brother.

Without even taking my eyes off Optimus, I raised one hand and flipped the yellow pain-in-my-ass off. The others busted up laughing, even as he growled, and I smirked, not bothering to miss a beat as I continued my conversation with the Autobot leader. "And considering we've got Decepticons up our tail pipes, it's probably best if we don't keep all the shards on one person. It's purified, so it should be safe." I lowered my free hand again, waiting.

He still seemed to hesitate, but after a moment, nodded. Reaching out, he gently picked up the shard, staring at it between his fingers, before reaching to his side and placing it in, what I guessed was a cargo hold of some sort. "Alright."

"Say... What happens when we get the allspark back together?" Sam called up, his complexion returning to normal, even as Bee bent down and gave the boy and his girlfriend a ride up. "I mean, do we all just go back to normal?"

The idea hit me like a ton of bricks, weighing heavily in my heart. _That's the question, isn't it?_ I recalled my dream, where I lived a normal life. I tried to imagine a life without Prowl, or Optimus... I couldn't. Maybe a short while ago, I'd have been happy there might have been a chance to get past this all, and live a normal life, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't grown close to the Autobots.

"It is...rumored that when the cube it returned to it's whole, the holder will be granted a wish. Anything at all they want." Optimus spoke slowly, quietly, his own eyes showing how uncertain he was about it. "It was never told what the priestess of old wished for. I am uncertain what will happen."

"So... _Anything_ the holder wishes for...might come true? Like if Kendra wished.....for.....Cybertron to be made whole again?"

"What? Why me??" I looked over at Sam, who shrugged.

"You're the priestess, the one holding the shards. Well, _most_ of them, anyways."

"I am uncertain." Optimus stated again as he slowly shook his head. "But I believe if Kendra wished for it, Cybertron could be rebuilt, and all Cybertronian presence on earth could return to their homes."

"What, and continue on like nothing happened?" This time it was Mikeala to speak, and her look was troubled.

"'Like nothing happened'??"

Everyone turned to Rana's voice, finding her sitting in Prowl's palm. She held Star close to her, her eyes wide and filled with pain.

"Like that's so easy? You're forgetting some of us have no way to act like this never happened. My _family_ is _dead_. Kendra's a _giant alien robot_." Her eyes slowly narrowed, until she was glaring at us. "It's not as simple as you think."

"Geez, relax. She could just wish the allspark never shattered to begin with, or something. Have all people who died regain their lives." Sideswipe shrugged and shook his head. "Your parents will come back, and Kendra will be human again."

The area went quiet at that.

"But wouldn't that make Megatron come back?" The newly arrived 'Jazz' tilted his head a little.

"Not if the wish is worded right."

I kept my eyes on the ground, torn. On one hand, they had a point. If I could reunite the shards of the allspark, I had a chance to give them their _home_ back, and all the lives lost. I had a chance to bring Rana's family back to life, along with all the other humans who died.

But then the Cybertronians would leave. I'd be human, none of this would have happened...

But... I wouldn't _know_ what I was missing, because I'd have never _met_ the Autobots...right?

Somehow the idea was an agonizing one. The idea of living a normal life, after all this. Being human again. Going to archery competitions and hanging out with friends. The normalcy seemed nice, but...boring. Picturing life without the Autobots just didn't seem complete.

Hearing the utter silence, I glanced up. Optimus' eyes were shining with pain and sorrow as he gazed at me. I tilted my head a little, but he simply smiled sadly and shook his head, before looking away. I followed his gaze and found various Autobots lost in thought.

Sunstreaker was quietly listing things he couldn't wait to get back to, that were obviously popular on Cybertron. "...Get off his mudball and away from all these fleshy organics..." He didn't even notice the hurt, angry looks the humans shot him, or the indignant looks from the others. It wasn't until Sideswipe nudged him sharply did he pause and looked around. "Uh..."

Bumblebee was probably the worst off. I'd seen him worried and sad, and watched as his antennai lowered, along with his door wings. This was the worst. He was hunched in on himself, his eyes shut tightly and his door wings almost straight down. A simple check told me my own propeller wings weren't any different. Without a word, I walked over, my own heart aching in a softer echo of his pain.

Neither of us could go back to normal. No, not just _us_. A lot of the people and bots in this group had changed. Bumblebee would miss Sam, his parents and Mikeala. Ironhide had grown close to the Lennox's, from what I'd heard, and Will was more than happy to tell about the elder bot's adoration of his baby girl. Ironhide would miss Annabelle, more than any of them.

Rana... Rana would miss a lot of us, I think, especially Prowl and Star.

Even if we didn't know each other, and none of us knew what we'd be missing, I think we all knew there'd be holes in our hearts, either way. Wrapping Bee in a careful hug, I ran my fingers down the center of his back, careful to avoid his sensitive door wings.

"Oh, slag... Bee..."

Sunstreaker's voice softened to a pitch I hadn't known it could take, and I turned towards him. His eyes were pained, but he shrugged off Sideswipe's hand and turned his expression to the ground, clearly uncomfortable with anyone seeing his softer side.

"We're getting ahead of ourselves here, you know." Will's voice was subdued, but firm. "We haven't even gotten half of the shards together yet. Let's worry about wishes when we get the whole thing together, ok?"

Bee gave off a tiny metallic whine, pressing against me a little, before pulling back. He nodded a little at me, before turning to the humans he gently held in his hands, who were both hugging ridges in his armor tightly, their own faces pale.

"Will is right." Optimus' voice seemed to shake a lot of the Autobots out of their thoughts. "We need to locate and retrieve the last of the shards before we can do anything else."

"We need to find them." I paused, frowning. "But they can be anywhere, all over the world."

"That is why I propose we split up."

The area seemed to burst with protests, some Autobots pointing out the Decepticons following after, and others not wanting to be far from possible action. Bumblebee remained quiet at my side, and I felt something pulling within me, an almost overwhelming urge to just...hug him again. I'd heard his story, about how he was one of the last of their younglings, and he'd made such good friends here.

It was kind of what I felt towards Rana, the urge to protect them and make them smile.

Looking over, I ran a hand over the scout's arm, and watched as he turned towards me, his antennai perking up slightly as he hummed quietly. I shook my head, before turning back to the matter at hand.

"Listen to me!" Optimus raised his voice slightly, causing everyone to fall silent. "The longer we take to complete this mission, the more shards will fall into Starscream's hands. The more human lives will be lost. We are here to protect the humans, and to do that, we need to split up into groups and search the globe." His eyes fell on Jazz. "I'd like you to take Bumblebee and Jolt. Ironhide will take the Arcee triplets. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe will go with Prowl-"

"Problem!"

Everyone turned to Rana, who was in Prowl's hand still. Her hand was in the air, as though she were volunteering to answer a question at school. "Um, Prowl's kinda my guardian, and I wanna stay with Kendra." In her arms, Star yipped a little, giving her own opinion.

"I also believe I should remain nearby. The priestess will be in the most danger, so it's only wise to have a medic nearby." Ratchet pointed out slightly.

"I had already considered that, old friend." The great Autobot leader inclined his head a little at Ratchet, before turning to Rana. "We do need to split up." He seemed to hesitate...

"We don't need a bodyguard, you know." Sideswipe called suddenly, his eyes narrow. "We're old enough to take care of ourselves."

I bit my lip as I watched them hash out their concerns to each other, before sighing and shaking my head. "Ahem." I cleared my throat loudly, watching as about half of the Autobots turned to me, catching my subtle interruption, while the rest continued on. "You know..." I started, my voice raised to catch everyone's attention. "We're all kinda missing the main point here. We _can't_ split up, or are you forgetting that I'm the only one who can purify the shards?"

"You can also fly, which makes it easier for you to travel back and forth." Ironhide put in gruffly. "So we call Optimus with our location and the location of the spark, and you can come get it."

"Really." I felt my eyes narrow, as irritation ignited within my spark. "Is that before, during or after I get the shards with them?" I pointed towards Rana and Prowl. "I'm guessing that you expected me to fly between groups, purifying shards, right? Would you like me to make your morning energon, too? How about killing off your enemies? Then I suppose I can shine your armor, after all that." I let the sarcasm roll off my tongue. "It's not like I need sleep. I'm just your shard finder, right?"

Shaking my head at them, I turned and transformed mid air, into my helicopter form. "You all argue about what you want to argue about, but while you're all discussing impossible alternatives, I'll be hunting shards." I pulled into the air and flew away from the group, ignoring them as they called to me. I felt horrible for leaving Rana, but she'd had a point. Prowl _was_ her guardian, so he'd keep her safe.

Not to mention, today just...wasn't my day. I couldn't get it out of my head, the possibility of what they might want me to wish for. The idea of living a life without them, as if they never existed....

I could feel presences behind me, but they weren't the familiar ones of the Autobots. These were darker, though not frighteningly dark. Spinning in the air, I paused, hovering. I didn't really know how to fly backwards, so I just sat there, watching as a black and white cruiser with a cherry red aura, and a black SUV with a deep majenta aura drove down a road in my direction, before pulling over to either side, as though...waiting.

_Well? What do they want?_ They were unfamiliar vehicles, and a scan showed no human aura inside them. The cars themselves had auras, but they didn't transform, and were darker than the Autobots. _Decepticons?_ My heart hummed nervously, but settled down quickly when, other than the cruiser honking it's horn almost irritatedly, they did nothing.

Then it calmed even further when I made out the distant forms of a red and blue flamed Peterbuilt, a yellow Search and Rescue Hummer, and a blue and white cruiser. I waited to see the others behind them, but when I didn't, I frowned. Slowly, I lowered to the ground and transformed, placing my hands on my metallic hips as Optimus slowed, almost warily passing between the other vehicles, before transforming.

"Where are the others?"

"If you'd allowed me to finish my thoughts..." Optimus raised an eyebrow, before glancing warily at the two vehicles parked on the side of the road. He seemed to think about something, before shaking his head. "We will move towards the east coast of Canada, following different paths to get there. The others are close enough to get to us if we need help, or for us to get to them. This way we can thoroughly search North America, without putting anyone at risk."

"Because I'll be close enough that if they run into anything, I can get there quickly to purify it." I nodded a little, feeling my cooling fans switch on as my cheeks heated. "And the others agreed with our stalkers...?" My eyes went to the others, who just seemed to sit there in their alternate forms.

"Barricade, I recognize." Optimus' eyes went to the cruiser, who flipped his hood at the bot, before settling down again. The Autobot leader shook his head a little before turning to spot the SUV on the other shoulder of the road. "Him, I don't recognize." Eyes narrowed.

As if those were the magic words, both bots began transforming. One into a surprisingly small black and white mech, even slightly smaller than Prowl. He had deep crimson eyes, and jagged crystaline teeth, his hands more _claws_ than hands. The other turned into a rather large bot, surprisingly, even larger than Optimus. It seemed he had the same subspace thing going on I did, to be able to transform into something so large, from an alternate form smaller than Optimus' semi.

"Soundwave." Optimus' tone was one of shock and confusion, and he looked up at the Decepticon.

The red visored eyes of the larger bot turned to me and he seemed to stare at me a long moment. "It seems events of old are repeating themselves." He spoke in a disturbingly emotionless voice. "I was warned about Starscream's change by one of his trine mates, and came to see of the new priestess with my own eyes." Taking a step forward, he seemed to regard me, though I hated that his visor hid his eyes from me.

"Not what I expected." 'Barricade's head seemed to tilt. "Then again, never would'a expected some fleshbag to be stupid enough to shatter the allspark."

"Hey!" I frowned at him, feeling my energy crackling between my fingers. "He didn't know it was gonna happen, and watch it! I was born human myself, you know!"

He snickered. "Yeah, trust me, I heard _all_ about that." His eyes seemed to roam me, with a sneer.

I took a step back, and very nearly sagged in relief when Optimus took two steps closer, until he was right in front of me. "That's enough. Whatever it is you want, you can deal with me."

Soundwave clearly ignored the Autobot leader as he stepped to the side. "Priestess." He spoke tonelessly as he stepped forward. When Optimus got in his way, the visor across his eyes slid back, and crimson eyes narrowed at blue. "I have nothing to say to the Autobots. My business is with the priestess."

"And _what_ business do you have with me?"

Turning back to me, he slowly bowed his head. Then, surprise of all possible surprises, he sank to one knee.

"I wish to pledge my servitude to you, priestess."

"What the slag?!"

I ignored Barricade's words as I watched the giant Decepticon. "Um, I don't...understand." Optimus seemed to step back, his own gaze shocked and confused.

"That makes two of us." The Decepticon cruiser grumbled with a dark glare as he folded his claws over his chest.

"I do not wish to see our race destroyed by one fool's quest for power. My reasons for joining Megatron are my own, but he no longer lives. I will not follow a glitch like Starscream to my death."

"Ok, _that_ I can agree with." The black and white mech muttered quietly with a growl.

Blinking rapidly, I shook my head a little. "Um, it's ok. If you really wanna help, you should talk to Optimus. I don't really wanna get involved in the whole Autobot versus Decepticon thing." My eyes went to Ratchet who looked shocked, and Prowl, whose head was smoking like a chimney. "Fall over on Rana, and I'll kick you, Prowl." I turned back to the others. "I don't...know anything about your war. If Optimus is ok with it..." I shrugged.

"Decepticons are mechs of their word... Well, mostly." Optimus nodded slightly. "Soundwave especially. If he is vowing to help us, I trust him."

"Slaggit all, Soundwave! You wanna _help_ the Autoscum?!"

"Megatron is dead. The war is over. I will not fight for a world long destroyed, on Starscream's whim. We have a chance to start over new." He sighed, although he somehow managed to make even _that_ sound emotionless. "I tire of watching my back everywhere I go." Slowly standing, the large mech bowed his head towards Optimus Prime.

Barricade snarled quietly, but didn't say a word, sighing and looking away. Obviously, as much as he might not have liked it, he seemed to agree.

Optimus bowed back. "Well then, Soundwave. Barricade. Welcome to the team."

* * *

**Note** : I can't even play Evony without thinking transformers. We even have alliances called 'Prime' and 'Autobots', and I can't type 'transport' without typing 'transform'. -.-' Slag!

**Final Shard Tally** :

Good Guys = 7

Bad Guys = 4

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	21. Twins

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : Yes, Sunfire and Moonfrost are in this story, I've been trying to successfully bring them into another story. Also, I've been posting faster because my other story I'm working on is slowly closing in on the final battle, and I'm soon hoping to be ready to post it. This story, once again, remains incomplete.

If anyone thinks they can, or wants to, finish it, let me know. I really wouldn't mind. As a matter of fact, I'll be pulling this story down shortly after I have it completed up here. I don't like leaving incomplete stories on my profile, and my muse for this one flushed itself down the toilet some time ago, I'm afraid.

To all those who liked the story, thank you. There are still over 10 chapters to go. For those of you who've reviewed with con-crit for me, I've actually _used_ that advice in my latest story. I've never tried _this_ type of storyline before, either, so I'm afraid there _might_ be some issues, but hopefully not too many.

And finally, I've decided that any full length story I write will probably have Sunfire in it. She's too damn adorable _not_ to have. XD I really _do_ love writing about her. :)

Anywho thank you all.

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

_"Where. Are. They?"_

Thundercracker and Skywarp hissed as they trembled, struggling against the hold Starscream was gaining over their bodies. Thundercracker grabbed his head with a yelp, bending down as he struggled to ignore the almost tempting promises of power and vengeance a voice was whispering in his head. Skywarp was on his knees, breathing heavily, his optics shuttered and his frame shaking noisily.

_"Where are they?"_

Decepticons looked around, frowning to each other, even as Starscream glared at them all, his optics the darkest shade of crimson they'd ever seen. It was Sideways who stepped forward.

_"I don't get what the problem is." _He tilted his head a little, before backing up a step as Starscream whirled on him. _"Wait! I only mean Barricade's always running off, and Soundwave tends to be a loner. Why's it such a problem, they're not here?"_

_"Because I ordered all Decepticons to report back by now." _Starscream's optics flashed darker as he turned towards Sideways. _"Those fools have important information. I can feel it." _He looked around wildly, as if overcharged. _"If they joined the priestess-"_

_"Priestess?" _Dead End raised a single optic ridge. _"Wait, you're not talking...the priestess of old? She died ages ago!"_

_"No, you fool!" _A low growl sounded from Starscream's throat as he turned back to his struggling trine mates. _Why do they have to fight me so?_ _"The new priestess. The one travelling with the Autobots to find the shards of the allspark."_

Everyone froze at this news, their processors going over the information of what was happening and the fact that there was a new priestess. They all knew that if there was any hope for any of them, she was the key, but Starscream shot dark looks at them all, and they cowered back, more unnerved by his seemingly unstable state than anything.

Blackout started slightly, optics widening. The surprise was expected, he'd never have thought a Decepticon would travel with an Autobot for any reason, but the betrayal was a surprise. He winced slightly, sinking down a little under it's weight. He knew it was strange, he didn't have any real ties to the other Decepticons, but he'd never expected for them to just up and leave.

As if sensing his distress, Scorponok hissed loudly, his tail swinging back and forth dangerously.

With a hiss of his own, Blackout's optics fell to the drone, and he glared at it. _**'Not now!'**_ He growled out over a private comm link. _**'Calm down and silence yourself!'**_ The last thing he needed was for Starscream to turn full attention on him.

_"Blackout."_

_Aww, pit!_ Looking up again, he bit back a glare at Starscream's expression. _"Yes..." _He very nearly choked on the word. At least Megatron was deserving of it. _"My lord?"_

_"You will go and find them."_ Stalking over, the seeker reached into one of his holds. _"You will locate Barricade and Soundwave and bring them back. If they refuse, kill them. I cannot afford to have to deal with possible traitors." _Pulling something out of the hold, he turned to the copter._ "And to ensure your obedience..." _He suddenly lashed out.

The pain was shocking and unexpected. With a scream, Blackout collapsed to his knees, convulsing, as black waves of electricity ran over his body. He yelped, screaming in Cybertronian as he clutched at the shard of metal slowly digging it's way into a crack in his armor to rest against the armored cover to his spark.

The others froze, staring in horror and shock as the large copter trembled and shook, going quiet very suddenly.

_It's a good thing I managed to find two more shards._ He sneered angrily as Blackout's body convulsed once again, before he slowly stood. _Although I hate parting with any one of them. "Follow my orders and you will be rewarded."_

Scorponok trembled as bolts of blackened electricity shot from the large mech behind him, optics going darker as he turned and crawled behind the copter, climbing up into his usual place.

With a bow, Blackout turned and walked out of the room without a word.

Turning to the others, Starscreams' optics flashed as he suddenly smirked. _"Skywarp. Thundercracker. I have a _different_ mission for you. One that will involve you warping to the remains of Cybertron and looking for a rather specific tomb."_ He sneered as a plan began to form in his mind. _If they have a priestess, why don't we create one of our own?_

**(Kendra's POV)**

Wandering down the empty hall, I shuddered a little. My eyes kept darting behind me to the girl and her mutant fox, who were heading down a different hall. "Be careful!" I hissed quietly, nodding at them before continuing on. My fingers hurt a little, from how long I'd been holding an arrow drawn on the bow, but I pushed it aside as I walked down the empty corridor.

The watch I wore on my wrist was heavy and warm, but a comfortable weight. Apparently, Optimus had it made some time ago. Each Autobot had one to give to their charges, and despite being able to pass for an Autobot myself, it seemed Optimus had taken me on as his charge.

Which was kind of...nice. He was a quiet bot, kind and gentle, and incredibly considerate.

"He's what most human girls would give their lives for in a boyfriend." I muttered with a smirk, struggling to bite back the giggle. _Except he's twenty-eight feet tall, made of metal, and from another planet._ As I turned another corner, my eyes darting all over, I had to wonder if he was what Cybertronians considered Prime boyfriend or mate material. _Huh, Prime quality. No pun intended._

Shaking with the force of my muffled giggles, I snuck up to an open door and peered inside. The room beyond was a mess, and I felt my eyes stinging as I struggled to push aside the pain in my heart. "Children." I sighed as I continued down the hall. "They were just children."

The halls of the abandoned high school were frighteningly empty and dark, despite it being a school day, school _not_ being called off for any unusual reasons, and the fact that it was sunny out. Putting my pains aside, I stopped at a set of open double doors and shuddered at a rather wet slithering sound. _Oh eww. Well at least I know _something's_ here._

Turning, I raised my bow higher, slowly entering the stairwell and thankful I'd put my hair back in a high ponytail to keep it out of my face. A cool wind blew through the well, making an eerie moaning noise as it brushed through the intricately etched rails of the stairs. Slowly, I began to climb down the foreboding stairs in front of me, shivering as the cool wind caressed the bare skin of my arms and legs, through my haori.

_So... Keep myself occupied. Hmm..._ I blinked as I made it to the door, ducking through it to scan the area out front, before turning back and slipping down the next flight, into the basement. _We've got Decepticons following us around. Soundwave's done nothing but stare at me like I'm some sort of side show freak, and Barricade's done nothing but _bitch_ about me being some sort of side show freak._

_Not that he _has_ to follow us around._ I quickly checked the tiny dead end hall next to the stairs, before pausing at the door, my heart fluttering nervously at the way it was just limply hanging off it's hinges. _It was like that already. The school was lacking in repairs. It had _nothing_ to do with monsters..._ I struggled to convince myself as I stepped into an even darker hallway, the aura causing me to shiver once again.

It wasn't all that dark, but I followed it's trail to a black cloud I recognized as a shard. My fingers stung with holding the bow so long, and I slowly losened my hold on the arrow when I deemed there was nothing nearby enough to harm me. "What is this, hide-and-go-seek?" I snipped with a glare as I stalked forward.

Then my foot slipped on something, and I felt my jaw drop. Looking down, admittedly reluctantly, I groaned and raised my foot, shaking at the slime on the end of my boot. "Oh my God, that's so gross!" Shaking my foot again, I stepped closer to the wall, mock gagging silently as I gripped my arrow and quickened my pace.

_Only got so much time before Soundwave sends his... What were they again? Tape cassets?_ I bit my lip and rolled my eyes. _Yeah, the evil tape cassets of doom, though that cat-like thing looked a lot like Star._ Shaking my head, I stopped at one side of a doorway, where the slime trail led into and closed my eyes a moment, taking and holding a deep breath when I felt the aura of a shard within. _Ok. Focus. Here we go._

Knocking my arrow once again, I slipped around the corner, only to gasp and freeze.

In the center of a large cage-like sphere of goo, I spotted... Well... It looked like a baby robot. It's light aura was so faint compared to the darkness around it, and directly above it hung a giant spider with glowing red eyes.

"Wow, you're one uber ugly motherfacker." I grumbled, my eyes widening as I raised the arrow to pointing at it's face. "How about this? Give me the shard-" My eyes dropped to the little one, curled up inside the cocoon, writhing as though it was in pain. "And the little robot, and I _might_ be nice enough to let you live." _Yeah, right._

It hissed as it stared at me blankly, it's ruby eyes glowing with a dark light as it's limbs nearly flashed around. It seemed to dance on the spot.

"Right. Ok. Mindless idiot." I nodded and drew the bowstring tighter, my eyes dancing towards the weakening little robot, and the spider hovering above it. With a growl, I let the arrow fly at the spider, before quickly reaching back and grabbing another, immediately firing it at the shard.

I watched, motionless, as the spider simply knocked the arrow away from it, but my second arrow hit the shard, the energy purifying. The ooze-cage around the little robot began to melt, and it was lightly lowered to the floor, before the slime, or whatever it was, turned into clear water. At least, that's what it looked like.

There was another hiss, and I swung out with my bow as I sensed something approaching with a dark aura. I felt the wood of my bow connect, and quickly grabbed a third arrow, ducking and yelping as legs seemed to attack me from all sides. Running forward, I knocked the arrow, taking quick uncertain aim and firing in the direction of the head of the beast.

With a loud garbled cry, the spider reeled back, it's legs twitching wildly, as the arrow pierced through one of it's eyes.

_I can do this... I can do this..._ I'd never really had to face a monster on my own, since running into Rana and Prowl, but this was a weak one. Well, not _weak_, but weaker than the others. I bent down and grabbed a small dagger from my boot, before racing forward, whacking at legs with my bow, or slicing at them with my knife. _I have to do this!_ I jumped, rolling upon landing and coming up half underneath the monster. Stabbing upwards, I shoved the knife between two ridges on the underbelly of the beast, before pulling it with me as I jumped back.

The elongated cut poured crimson blood, and I seriously gagged as a wave of nausea rolled over me. The blade of the knife glowed brightly, and smoke erupted from every inch of the spider's body it touched, until there was a gaping gash in the creature's underbelly.

_Thank you Ironhide!_ I dropped the bloody blade on the ground, before grabbing one more arrow. _Just one more hit, while it's distracted!_ Pulling it back, I aimed at the creature's head and let fly.

The arrow glowed brightly, one of three spots of light in the otherwise black room. It hit it's mark, sinking into the head of the spider, and I turned, grabbing up my knife and wiping it on my dress before sheathing it. Looking over my shoulder, I hesitated in what to do next, until the spider began to turn to dust. The arrow slid out of it's head and hit the ground, it's clatter muffled by the piles of dust already formed under it.

"Well, that's that. I did warn you." I knew overconfidence was a bad thing, but I couldn't help it in this situation. It felt...nerve wracking but good to know I could still take care of myself.

A tiny garbled series of whistles and clicks, sounding remarkably Cybertronian, caught my attention. I turned back, watching as the little one wobbly crawled through the water and ash. "Is that really...a baby?"_ But hadn't Optimus said the babies were all massacred?_ I picked up my arrows, sticking them back in the quiver, before walking over and collecting the shard, sticking it on the necklace with the others.

I looked down at the little one. "If it's really a baby..." I could feel the overwhelming urge to reach out and pick it up, and sighed with a smile. Closing my eyes, I slung my bow over my shoulder and reached out, picking the little one up, biting my lip as it flashed in my touch, but otherwise seemed unharmed. It was warm, and so tiny, fitting easily into one of my hands. I couldn't help but giggle.

Then I gasped.

I was suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of longing and need. Loss, sorrow, fear, confusion, need... It all washed over me, causing my eyes to burn wildly as hot tears ran down my cheeks. Looking down at the little one, I could only sob as bright blue eyes looked up at me, and hope seemed to swell in the giant ball of endless emotions.

I didn't really think about it. This little one was..._somehow_ communicating with me through emotions, so I held the little one close and closed my eyes. I could feel the string, where it's emotions hit me. It was like a thread made of light, attaching from my aura to it's. Responding in kind, I reached out with my own string of emotion, sending as much love and peace as I could through it as it connected with the little one.

It was like a strange snap inside me. I felt...as if I was changing, although I don't really know how. I could feel the little robot's emotions, now more positive and growing even more so with every passing moment. I heard it coo slightly, before feeling distress and tugging.

Opening my eyes, I looked down, watching as the little robot tugged me, it's gaze fixed on a door in the corner of the room. That's when I realized I was feeling more emotions, quite similar to before, from beyond that door, and when I glanced over and focused, I sensed another light aura, almost identical to this one.

_Oh no..._ I got up quickly and ran to the door, throwing it open. There, inside, I found myself staring in horror at the mass of bones. They were human, if the skulls were anything to go by, but the little shiny robot in the back corner clearly wasn't. Its emotional string was more filled with terror and I once again reached out, calming it as I walked over, crunching on some bones and stumbling over others as I reached its side.

"Hey there little one." I reached down with my free hand, and lifted that one, too, noticing immediately that both were almost identical in looks, except one had elfin-like 'ears' on it's head, in the form of three close together antennai, each slightly shorter than the last. The other had antennai that reminded me a lot of Bumblebee's, more in the center of it's head, and flipping up and down as it turned to it's twin. "Twins." I began to giggle as I stood, cradling both little ones against me.

_Huh, imagine that._ I turned and left the room, quickly making my way up the stairs. _How come Optimus didn't know about them?_ As I wandered down the hall, I heard something before me and looked up.

A large cat-like bot stood before me, gazing at me with wide crimson eyes.

"Oh. Guess I took a little longer than planned. Sorry, Ravage." I winced a little and hurried over to them.

He didn't respond, but his eyes followed the little ones in my arms as I made my way to his side.

"Kendra! Oh! What're... Are those... Oh my God! They're so cute!"

I laughed a little as Rana raced over, her hair a little windswept but otherwise unharmed. Star was right behind her, and both just _stared_ at the twins in my arms, before Rana hesitantly ran her fingers over the Bumblebee-like antennai on the one little one.

It began to purr and Rana and I both busted up into giggles as we quickly made our way out of the school, heading straight for the small entourage of vehicles parked in the massive half-filled parking lot.

"Guys! You're not gonna believe what I found!"

* * *

**Final Shard Tally** :

Good Guys = 8

Bad Guys = 6

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	22. Naming and Pain

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note**: Although I did come up with the one sparkling name, I do not claim to own it because Pontiac owned it first. XD The other belongs to **greenleafprince**.

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**(Kendra's POV)**

"You know...we need to think of names."

I giggled as tiny little hands swatted at my finger, as I reached down to scritch the tiny Bumblebee-like antennae. Quickly I glanced over, my smile growing at the twin on Rana's lap, curled up contentedly. "Do you know any good Cybertronian twin names?"

"Perhaps finding the gender might help as well." Optimus rumbled, his voice quieter as usual as it came from the dash. "Press the chest armor apart and coax open the protective plate over the spark chamber." There was a flash, and suddenly Optimus was crouching next to me in his holoform. His expression was joyous as he reached forward. "Like this."

I watched slowly as he seemed to brush his fingers gently over the side of the little one's face, before smiling as he pressed down on the chest plates. I couldn't help the fondness that swelled in me, seeing how gentle and sweet he was towards the sparkling, as he pressed it's chest plates apart.

A small sense of discomfort rolled through me, and I frowned as the little one whined it's protest, even as he pushed back the protective plate over it's spark chamber, revealing a blinding white glow behind it. "Can you stop?" I reached out and took his hand, trying to ignore the smoothness of his artificial skin in my grip, or the strength and warmth in the holo-hand, as his fingers curled around mine, making my cheeks warm even more. _Just a trick of the light. He's not real. I'm _sitting_ in his real body._ "It didn't like that."

Optimus froze, and I felt the entire cab of the truck stiffen up. Slowly, his holo-face turned up towards me, his smile gone, and a surprised yet thoughtful look on his face, even as he slowly removed his hand from mine. "How...did you know that?" He tilted his head a little, staring unblinkingly.

"Um, you know, it's kinda creepy when you don't blink." I pointed out, as a bout of nervousness ran through me. Feeling a tiny hand slipping in between my fingers, I looked down and felt myself melting as I took the tiny, shiny metal hand between my pointer finger and thumb, stroking the back of it with my thumb. "Aw, that's _so_ sweet!" I couldn't help but smile again. Then I giggled as contentedness flowed through both links.

"Kendra..."

Looking up, my smile fell from my face, and I blinked, before sighing. "It's kinda hard to explain."

"Did you bond with them?"

Blinking again, I frowned and tilted my head. "Am I supposed to know what you mean by that?" I watched as he sighed, looking back down at the little ones, and then launching into a surprisingly complex explanation of...emotions and 'reaching' and bonding and creators... "Wait, wait, wait!" I slapped a hand lightly over his mouth, blushing when I felt the prickle of his five o'clock shadow, and warm soft lips pressed against my palm.

Immediately, my mind began helpfully showing me flashes of what it might feel like to have those same warm, soft lips pressed against my own, and I shook my head, staring down at the little ones as I refused to acknowledge the blush in my cheeks. _Focus, Ken._

Removing my hand from his face, I raised an eyebrow. "Talk about Geek-an-ese." I shook my head. "OK, so about half of what you said went _right_over my head." I tried and failed not to laugh when his eyes darted to the empty space over my head. "Figure of speech, Optimus. Basically, I understood 'bonding', something about 'creators' or 'parents', and an 'emotional link'. Yes, I felt emotions I'm guessing were theirs, and yes, I responded. Does that mean I bonded?" I tilted my head a little.

Optimus nodded. "It sounds like it." Slowly, he began to smile again. "It makes you their femme creator, or... I believe 'mother' is the human term." He nodded down to the little on in my hands, who'd crawled up my lap and was curling into the flaps of my jean jacket. "This one is a little femme." He turned and reached for the other.

"Do you need to do that? It bothers them."

He looked over his shoulder and nodded. "Yes. It is necessary to determine gender." Turning away, I winced at the sense of distress, sending waves of comfort and love over the link until the distress fled. "It seems they are twin femmes." He sounded amazed.

"Ok...?" _Is that really so unusual?_ By his tone, it certainly seemed to be. "So what do we name them?"

"What would you like to name them?" The holoform flashed out of sight, leaving us in the semi cab driving itself along the road.

"Um, well..." I pretended to think, rolling my eyes at Rana. "Somehow 'Sally' and 'Jenna' hardly seem appropriate for little _Cybertronian_femmes. Optimus, _born_human, remember? The only Cybertronian names I know are the ones you've introduced me to."

"We are not on Cybertron."

For some reason, those words brought back the dark cloud of despair that seemed to be sticking around recently. I could hear the way he spoke the words quieter, and knew it bothered him more than he cared to let on. _We're not on Cybertron, but if I had the power to recreate your world for you..._Looking down, I picked up the little femme in my lap, who'd begun to cry softly with my pain. _I'm sorry little one._

"Why don't you name them?" I suggested, forcing a smile, even though my face felt cold. I could feel Rana staring at me, and after a moment, I found the other femme being gently dumped on my lap, and lifted them both, the femmes curling up against my neck as I spotted Rana picking up Star and holding her close. "I mean, I think they should have Cybertronian names." My heart swelled as I felt both femmes cuddling their faces into my neck.

"Truly?" The idea seemed to please him, and there was another flash, sticking me with Optimus' holoform once again. He knelt down at my side, looking quite...ecstatic as he gazed at the femmes. "I would be honored."

_Why does it have to hurt so much?_Closing my eyes, I struggled to battle my pain, even as I felt the heat of one of his holo-hands brushing lightly against the femme closest to him, with the little pointed audio processors, one of his fingers brushing against my chest in the process. Opening my eyes, I glanced down to see he was brushing her back slightly. _He's wonderful with children._ It made me absently wonder what he'd be like, if these were his own children.

The more I thought about it, and the more it hurt, the more I began to realize... The greatest gift I could give the Autobots was their own home again. Earth had become a second home to them, but it wasn't Cybertron. It wasn't plentiful in energon, it wasn't as sturdy, and they had to hide here. It didn't seem fair, after all they'd been through. The more I found myself thinking about it, even against my will, I realized... It was the right thing to do.

_Right..._ I closed my burning eyes until the threat of tears passed. _I guess I know what I'm gonna wish for then._I sighed silently as I looked down, almost instinctively holding the little femmes closer as Optimus seemed more than content to pet their backs and antennae. _At least he's not asking a million questions._

One thing I'd learned about the boss bot was that he always put others before himself. If he realized how much pain I was in, he'd undoubtedly try to help me, or tell me not to bother with the wish, just to save me the pain.

"I am...uncertain. I know of numerous names, but have never had to name sparklings before." He seemed to purse his lips a little. "How about...Sunfire and Moonfrost?"

I nodded immediately, as he pointed to the one with the Bumblebee-like antennae as Sunfire, and the one with the pointed audio processors was Moonfrost. "I like them. They suit twin femmes." I forced a smile down at them, stroking 'Sunfire's antennae and smiling more genuinely as she began to purr.

Optimus gazed at me with a surprisingly...well..._young_expression. His eyes were wide, and there was an almost boyish grin on his face as he nodded, turning back to the sparklings. After a few moments though, he sighed. "Now we need to decide where they are going to stay."

"Isn't it obvious?" I blinked as he frowned up at me from his place kneeling by his driver's seat. "With you." The answer seemed to surprise him, and I raised an eyebrow slowly. "What?"

"I...almost expected you to say you."

I sighed. "I'd love nothing more." It was admittedly frightening how quickly the sparklings had grown on me. "But I'm dangerous. Everywhere I go, darkness is after me. I'm more of a target than even you are as the last living Prime and leader of the Autobots." I hugged the little ones close, watching them as they curled up against each other, their eyes slowly closing. It was a good thing Optimus could help take care of them, considering I knew nothing about any of that and would _need_ the help. "I'd like to keep them with me, but it's not safe."

"I do agree it's not safe, however, I also believe they should spend at least partial time with you. You've bonded to them, making you their femme creator. They will need you near for the bond to grow, to feel safer."

"So what...we take turns?"

For a long moment, Optimus seemed to think about it. Then he nodded. "Yes, I believe that is best. They can rest within you when they need to recharge. They are small enough. Whenever there is danger nearby, I will take them."

I had to admit the idea suited me just fine. All thoughts of sending the Autobots home fled my mind as I nodded, and then yelped a little, wincing down at the startled and crying sparklings, when Optimus leaned forward and placed his palm flat against my chest, right between my breasts. "Sorry." I murmured to the others, before leaning back and glaring at Optimus. "Just what the fack do you think you're doing?!"

"'Fack'?" He almost seemed surprised by the sudden hostility, and didn't remove his hand. "I apologize if I've offended you, but I need to show you where the carrying chamber is for the sparklings." He pushed slightly, his holo-eyes on mine as if to show he meant no harm.

"Uh, 'fack' is a made up term. It's...cursing without actually cursing." I watched as Rana leaned forward and seemed to whisper in his ears, and then bit my lip as his eyes widened and he nodded in understanding. Then he turned back to me. I relented, allowing him to push aside my armored, faux skin-covered chest plates, revealing my inner workings. I'd expected him to reach for the extra protective cover over my heart, but instead narrowed my eyes as he reached for a disturbingly large spot just below it, where my internal organs used to be, and pushed the cover there aside.

"Here." He gently took one of the sparklings and pushed the loosened cover out of his way as he placed her inside. Then he reached for Moonfrost, taking her gently and placing her in next to her sister, before carefully pressing the plate cover back down in place, and my chest armor over it.

The weight and warmth were...unusual. I felt a small 'pop' within me, quickly followed by suckling sensations, and seconds later a second 'pop', and I lurched a little, blinking down at Optimus as my newly freed hands came up over my chest. "What-"

"They are...very likely feeding. It felt like a sudden pressure releasing?" Was it me, or did the cab of the truck just get warmer? And was holo-Optimus _blushing_?? I supposed he felt as awkward about talking about sparklings feeding as I felt hearing it. A bit unusual for a bot always so calm and serene outside of battle, but I kind of liked it. Made him seem a little more normal and less... Well, I didn't really know, but he always seemed in control to me. This more unsure side of him was endearing.

"Like a 'pop'." I nodded, rubbing at my chest a little, and noticing how my stomach had rounded slightly. Not enough to look like I was really pregnant, just not flat like it had been. "That's weird."

He chuckled. "You'll get used to it. Ratchet wishes us to stop soon, however, so he may scan all three of you and make sure your energon reserves are satisfactory."

"Um, just curious... What will he do if they're not?" Rana finally spoke up from where she sat, petting Star, who was sleeping comfortably in her lap.

Looking at her a moment, Optimus' gaze didn't turned troubled, which told us we really didn't have a whole lot to worry about. "Ratchet will insist I carry the sparklings until we can find a suitable crude source of energon. Then he will grind the crystals down into a crude fuel, and you will drink it." His attention was on me again. "It won't be pleasant, but it's to be expected on a planet where energon is not as refined."

_Yet another reason to get them their home planet back. Just how long can they survive without energon? What if our planet runs out before long? They'll be forced to leave anyways, living as 's just not fair to them._

The pain was back, as I found myself reconsidering my wish.

_You know what the right thing to do is._ My own inner voice was coaching me. _What do you think would make them happiest?_

The answer seemed obvious. Their home back. Peace. Loved ones, family and friends. All the lives lost, brought back, and all the evil undone. It seemed so easy, yet somehow impossible.

And the worst thing was, I didn't _want_ them to go. Any of them.

Most of all, I didn't want _him_ to go.

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**Note**: *Wakes up early and stumbles around until she walks into a wall that isn't supposed to be there.* OK, who put that wall there? *Takes a good look, and blinks.* And since when did it have blue and red...flames...rippling robotic...abs... *Realization begins to sink in* Broad...shoulders...and a pair of...really amused blue-Oh shit! Hi Optimus! XD

And yes, that was totally random! XD

And Happy Belated Birthday to me! I am officially 25 years old as of Feb 12. XD LOL!

*Looks at picture* ROLMMFAO! Transformer testicles. XD! -I actually have an IM picture like that. LMAO! Oh, and did you know apparently Optimus Prime is Jewish? At least, that's what Family Guy said. O.o

Ok, enough with the random commentary. Heading off now. I know this story is crappy compared to how I usually write, and I'm sorry about that. I do have other stories in the works that are hopefully better.

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	23. Traitor!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

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**(Normal POV)**

_Where are those pit-spawned wastes of metal?_Dark optics shuddered a little as the large armored form shook in it's armor, rattling a moment, before stopping. Glaring at the sun rising on the horizon, he sneered as he gazed once more to a spot above him in the beautiful multi-colored sky. _Get your afts back here, or I swear I'll-_

A loud echoing 'zap' sounded, and an extremely large form appeared in the sky, wavering slightly before solidifying. The form then split into two. Skywarp flew down to the ground, standing some distance back, and almost immediately, he found himself collapsing to his knees with the sheer force of Starscream's power.

Thundercracker had it easier. Once he landed, he was blissfully left alone. But he knew it was only because of the precious cargo he held. _"My Lord, we're lucky they honored her enough to keep everything in working order."_ He showed off the motionless, lifeless form in his hands, standing and waiting for orders.

_"Good. Scalpel's been informed. Take her to the lab, and then set out at once to retrieve the priestess. We will need her...help with this."_ His sneer turned even colder. _And she will help us, whether she likes it or not._

They seemed to pause, before Skywarp slowly climbed back to his feet, almost hesitantly. Thundercracker made his way into the base, and the remaining two seekers waited silently. They exchanged looks, but no emotion flitted through either one.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Starscream was barely containing the urge to test the limits of his new powers, which were growing ever stronger. Instead, he reached into a hold, and pulled out the large piece of the allspark. _Nearly one whole side._ He stared at the flawless piece, covered in the usual runic markings. The shards he held had fused together nicely. _One down and three to go._

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Thundercracker made his way back out of the base, empty handed. Behind him were Sideways, Dead End and multiple other Decepticons.

_"What's this?"_Suspicion reigned through Starscream before he stamped down on it. _They wouldn't dare betray me._

_"We won't be able to get her alone. It is highly likely she and the Autobots have joined up by this time. We'd never be successful with just the two of us against an unknown number of enemies."_He spoke like the answer was obvious, but quickly kneeled and bowed when Screamer's optics flashed black and back. _"Forgive me My Lord."_

_"No. You are right."_The Decepticon leader's optics remained narrowed however. _"Do what you must, but bring me that femme!"_

**(Kendra's POV)**

A dark foreboding feeling ran through me, and I found myself shuddering momentarily, my frame noisily clattering in my armor. I paused in my movements, holding up a hand to Optimus as I turned and tried to locate the source of the feeling.

"Kendra?"

I felt the distressed rustle of the sparklings within my and put a hand to my stomach as I turned. I'd been sparring with Optimus when the sense hit me, but even as I shook my head, it faded. _Probably a shard just outta my range. We'll get it._ I took the stance again, my body swaying ever so slightly back and forth as I settled into a comfortable position. Then I raised my fists.

Optimus' expression seemed somewhat distracted, so I raised an eyebrow and charged at him. He just managed to shake it off as my fist came at his head, and he ducked to the side, leaning back a little and grabbing my wrist as my hand sailed past where his face had been.

"Shouldn't let your guard down." I teased jokingly, feeling Sunfire and Moonfrost settle back down.

"You called for..." He paused, releasing my arm and stepping back, his eyes shining. "I believe it's called a 'time out'? You signalled you were distracted." Tilting his head a little, he remained crouched, waiting for my next move.

I couldn't help but laugh a little, before rushing forward and aiming punches at him again. I moved a little slower, wary of his speed and strength and not really wanting to actually _hit_ him. "I sensed something, but it's gone now." I ducked as his own fist came at me, and spun, only to gasp and yelp as his foot caught me in the side. "Hey!" I stumbled, grabbing my side and hunching a little as I spun to glare at him. "Ow!"

His eyes went wide and he quickly straightened, before rushing to my side. "Are you damaged?? What about the sparklings?"

My eyes locked on where his hands were pressing slightly at my side. They were warm, and brushed against a cable that sent a jolt of heat through me, causing me to gasp, my entire body shifting away from his touch a little. _Wow. What the...?_ Shaking my head, I grabbed his hands. "I'm fine, really. But I thought we were sparring. What's with the actually trying to put your foot through my side?"

He blinked a long moment, before shaking his head. "I was certain you would see me and dodge. Forgive me." He bowed his head slightly. "Are you certain you are alright?"

"I'm-" I cut off, turning as once again sensors picked up on something. The sky was clear and bright, but off in the distance a cloud of deep black seemed to be heading in our direction. "Optimus, take the twins." I willed my chest open, gently moving the protective plate and pulling the sparklings free. I took a moment to simply stare at the adorable little femmes, who whined in protest, before moving forward.

"I don't understand." His head was facing the direction I'd been facing.

Carefully shifting both twins into one hand, I reached out, running my finger along the seam down the center of Optimus' chest. I felt my cooling fans switch on when he visibly startled, gasping and pulling away from the touch, even as the catches on his armor popped open, leaving the two armored plates to sway slightly, loosely. I pulled my hand out of his grasp, reaching forward again to push the armored plates aside, and forcing a smile when he opened the inner chamber for me.

No matter how many times I saw them transform, or saw their internal makeup, I still couldn't get over it. I gently placed Moonfrost into the carrying hold, watching as she settled down against the far wall, and then I set Sunfire in with her, watching as they curled up together before pulling back and watching as he closed up the plates.

"Kendra, what is happening?"

"The priestess senses something." Soundwave's monotonous voice sounded loudly enough to startle everyone. "My own sensors are picking up on multiple Decepticon signals converging on our location."

"Great! The others finally realized just how stupid Starscream is!"

There was the sound of metal clanging on metal.

"Ow! Ey, what the slag was that for?!"

Spinning in place, I watched as Soundwave lowered his fist, and Barricade rubbed at a dent in his armored head plating. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing, even as I turned back and frowned. "They're not allies." No, the darkness was too powerful.

"What're you talking about? I can clearly see Blackout in the lead, and he _hated _Starscream!"

They were close enough to make out the fliers, but when I looked at the ground, several surprisingly _darker_auras were also visible. "They're coming from air and land!" I stepped back, feeling the hard ridges of warm armor pressing against my back. A glance over my shoulder revealed Optimus Prime behind me, his eyes also fixed on the scene before him. "There's too many."

"Indeed. I've called for backup, but we will have to fight-"

"No bloody way!" Turning on him, I shoved him back a bit, before turning to Prowl. "_You_ are gonna get Rana and Prime outta here. _We'll_take care of this." I watched as the security officer almost seemed startled by my orders, and shot an admittedly nasty glare at Optimus who dared to open his mouth to argue. "Look-" I pulled the shards from my neck, sticking them in Optimus' hand. "There's at least one shard with them, but they outnumber us. _You_, Optimus, are carrying _two _sparklings-" Wow, that sounded odd! "-and a good number of shards. Prowl has Rana as his charge. The best thing you guys can do is get to safety."

"Then we'll all run."

"You think we can outrun _jets_??" I stared at him incredulously, more than aware of the incoming threat. "Look, you have the shards, _and _two sparklings. You _need_ to get to safety! What part of that don't you understand?!"

He frowned deeply. His eyes shot past me a long moment, before he growled lowly, a rather unusual and worrying sound from the large, gentle mech. "Fine. I will go, but _I_ will take Rana, and Prowl will remain here to help you fight." Turning, he stared at his second in command for a long moment, before reaching out a hand. Without even having to hear a word, Rana crawled into his palm, followed by Star, who had taken to watching over the girl. "If anything happens, call me." With that, and a nod, he placed Rana on the ground, transformed, allowed her inside, and took off, not even sparing a backwards glance at us.

I cringed, even as Barricade laughed. "You _so_ pissed him off!" There was another clang. "Ow! Watch it!"

Ignoring the bickering, I sighed and turned back, feeling somehow...hollow. I could only identify one shard incoming, but the blackened auras of the multiple enemies didn't make that any easier. Grabbing one of my propellers like Ironhide taught me, I pulled it free from my back, bending it at two points until it formed a 'C' shape and a bowstring revealed itself from it's nestling place in a thin groove.

I now held a metallic bow, and as the enemy drew nearer, I pulled back the string, focusing on my energy, which formed an arrow. Taking aim, I waited patiently, hearing it as the others activated their weapons and stood ready.

They were upon us far quicker than I could have imagined.

A large helicopter arrived first, swiftly transforming into a large black bot with deep crimson eyes. My own eyes locked on the shard snuggled between his left armored chest cover and the protective spark chamber cover just under it. Then I had to duck as a silver Audi R8 transformed, the bot taking a shot at me.

Soundwave was the first to react, ordering his casseticons out to distract the enemy as he raced forward, blasting the silver bot, and ducking under a swing made by the transformed helicopter.

"Blackout! What the slag are you doing?!" Barricade rushed forward, grappling with the much larger bot, before being tossed aside with ease. "Aiiiiieeee!"

I released the arrow, watching as 'Blackout' intercepted the shot with his arm, crying out as it began to smoke. Then I ducked once again, kicking out behind me as I spun and clipping the red armored mech I didn't see before in the leg. Swinging with my bow, I heard him yell as the bow connected with his shoulder, knocking him off balance, but he caught himself quickly, turning and firing a shot at me.

Lunging to the side, I tried to duck the blast, wincing as I felt the heat and burning when it caught my side. I yelled loudly as I landed on the ground, and gasped when I looked up, spotting the same red bot over me. Within a blink, he disappeared as a flash of red optics and dark metal rushed him, and I mentally thanked Soundwave, climbing clumsily to my feet and shooting another energy arrow at Blackout while his body was turned.

He screamed loudly, convulsing as the arrow caught him in the back. Taking his chance, Soundwave kicked his enemy over to Ratchet, who immediately engaged with saws whirling, and spun, tackling the larger helicopter.

Everything seemed to fade. My focus was the shard in his chest, but I couldn't risk shooting him. I raced forward instead, ducking under two grey-green bots who rushed my from either side, and reaching out. _If only it wasn't so close to his spark!_ I felt my fingers brushing the armor, hearing the hiss and feeling the energy rushing into the shard. I watched as it glowed brightly.

Then a pain in my back had me screaming, and I found myself feeling lightheaded as I was suddenly air born.

"Barricade!" For once, Soundwave's voice wasn't as emotionless as everyone had gotten accustomed to. Not, it was suddenly filled with rage the likes made me twist to find him, even as I landed painfully on my back, my other propeller pulling free as I rolled.

I listened to a series of clicks as my head darted around, and I sluggishly dragged myself into an inclining position. My vision spun and my head swam, but I shook it as I gazed over, only to have my eyes widen.

Barricade stood between the silver and red bots, both of which were smirking menacingly. He held the bow I'd been using moments before in his hand, his own expression foreboding. Then, with surprisingly quick moves, he transformed his free hand into a blaster and shot at Soundwave, moving _too_ fast for the larger bot to react in time, and watching smugly as he fell over backwards.

"Soundwave!" I felt my heart lurch, vaguely realizing Prowl and Ratchet were also down for the count. _How'd they do that so fast?_I got to my feet, grasping my other propeller in front of me as I stood, and quickly transforming it into my only other weapon, another bow. _I seriously need more variety. A couple of knives, maybe a sword or two, and hey! A blaster never hurt!_ Grasping the string, I blinked, ignoring flashes of red in my vision as I drew back the string, focusing all my spare energy into a single arrow.

In the distance, I could make out several bright, powerful auras that I recognized as our friends, but even at their top speed, they wouldn't make it in time. "Traitor!" I glared, not paying attention to much of anything but the black and white mech before me. I aimed the bow at his spark, pulling harder than was necessary on the string, and feeling the heat of the energy I was pouring into the single, brightly glowing arrow.

Something flashed in his eyes then. It was too quick for me to really identify it, but then something hit me. _Something's not right._ My eyes shot to Blackout, who was face down on the ground, a brightly glowing, purified shard in his chest. Then they went back to Barricade. _His aura!_It hadn't darkened. While it lay dangerously on the border of treacherously dark, like that of a corrupted being, it was still on the good side.

_Oh hell! Now what?!_ I shook, stepping blindly to the side as I struggled to think quickly. It all seemed like it was going so slowly, but it really could have only been a few moments. _If I lessen the power in the arrow, they'll sense it._ As it was, I had to keep a barrier up to keep the power from rushing back into me and knocking me on my ass._And if I don't fire, they'll know something's up._

There was only one real choice. I stepped blindly again, more than aware of the debris all around me. Feeling something under my foot, I hoped those Decepticons were as zombified as they looked. I pressed all my balance unevenly on my foot, tripping myself in the process. With a forced yelp, I let loose the arrow as I stumbled, hoping I'd changed the trajectory just enough...

There was a flash, and a startled, pained, enraged scream.

Looking up again, I felt my eyes widen briefly to see a smoking gasp through his shoulder armor and a rather dark look in his face. _Oops._I was suddenly grabbed, and I yelled, struggling against the hold, only to turn and find the two grey-green bots. Shuddering a little, I panted heavily, feeling completely drained. I tried to purify them, but they only hissed, shifting their holds on my arms as my power gave out.

"Now, that was pretty stupid, wasn't it?" Barricade sneered, stalking forward. "Shoulda kept your energy." Why did I get the feeling he really _was_ scolding me for this? "Too late now." Before I could mutter a word, his arm was shooting past my head, and a sharp pain shot up the back of my neck.

As I cried out, I felt my legs give out. I sank into the darkness, with only one consolation.

At least Optimus, the sparklings, and the shards were alright.

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Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	24. Revival

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : If anyone would like to take this storyline and try to complete it/fix it up on their own, they are more than welcome to. I only have up to chapter 38 finished, and then I'll be taking the story down and focusing on my other story 'Two Times Two' (thanks once again to **Faecat** who picked the title for me :)). Just let me know if you'd like to try this one.

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**(Next Day, Normal POV)**

Growling loudly, Kendra narrowed her eyes at the smirking face in front of her, pulling against her restraints and snarling when other than refreshing the pain in her wrists, her only results were the clanking of the chains. "So much for Decepticon loyalties, huh?" She snarled, her eyes glancing briefly over to Soundwave, who remained remarkably calm and quiet, his visor once again shielding his eyes from view as he, too, hung from chains.

"Which would have told you something when we switched sides to your side so easily." Barricade's face was remarkably stony as he walked forward. He got right in her face, his crimson eyes darkening slightly as he raised an eyebrow. "Besides, are you so certain all is what it seems?" His voice remained low, but his expression didn't change.

"And _how_ exactly is it not? If you were just playing along, _why_ are we still chained?" Her eyes narrowed even more. "I could understand it at the time, we were outnumbered, but why haven't we run?"

"If we were outnumbered against them, are you expecting to have an easier time at _base_, with even _more _Decepticons milling around, and being led by a 'Con with several corrupted shards?" He sneered quietly. "Even _you_ aren't strong enough to withstand their power. I saw the way you flinched when he walked near."

Shuddering, Kendra's eyes narrowed even more, even as her heart hummed wildly in her chest, being reminded of her frightening experience with Starscream, when he came to meet the fabled priestess for himself. That had not been pleasant. While he hadn't _done_ anything, his aura was even darker than Sam's, and the sheer _power_ he radiated was enough to make her feel blinding terror and nausea. "Then _why_ did you give in?"

He turned away, his face turned towards Soundwave before he faced her again. "To keep us alive." He growled lowly and shook his head, before suddenly smirking, his eyes lighting up. "On the upside, Screamer doesn't trust me, but I managed to procure some necessary items. I've got things to do. Be a good girl now and stay put."

"Yeah, because I thought I'd go for a run across base." She snarled lowly, once again pulling at her chains, before settling back. _Screamer, Starscream, doesn't trust him? Well, I suppose that makes sense. With the power of the shards, he can see auras, and can probably see that Barricade's isn't as dark as his. Though, it _should_ be getting darker._ She frowned. _Unless..._She could feel the faint wisps of her powers reaching out to him, lightening his slightly darkening aura, and realized the reason he constantly came to see her. _I'm keeping Barricade, Barricade._

_If only I had the shards._ But, would the shards do any good against someone so dark? She knew her powers were weaker without them, but would she be strong _enough_ with them?

Shrugging at her words, Barricade turned and left the room. Once he was gone, Kendra turned to Soundwave, who once again remained perfectly still. She simply stared at him a long moment, but when he showed no sign of acknowledging her presence, she sighed and turned her face to the ground. Once again she tried calling upon her powers, pushing them out into the chains and growling when nothing happened.

Oh, she had use of her powers, but they did little against inanimate objects. If only Starscream would come back. Now that she'd recovered, maybe she could do something about it, even if it hurt her... Or terrified her.

"They will come for us."

The monotone voice startled her, and she turned to find Soundwave staring at her. Though his visor was still down, it did little to diminish the power of his stare from his place across the room.

"Their plans do not involve killing you."

_'You'._ Frowning, she raised an eyebrow. "And you?"

He turned away. "I swore servitude to you."

"Aw, isn't that sweet?"

That presence didn't startle her, as she'd heard the rather ancient, creaky door open and then shut again as someone arrived. Turning towards them, she allowed all emotion to fade from her face. In fact, it was like all emotion faded from her completely. She stared at the dark brown aura of Sideways, the silver Audi R8 as he entered the room with a smirk.

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, we have a meeting to get to." He walked over and raised a rather intimidating syringe, injecting something into Kendra's arm, and waiting the allotted time until her legs gave out from under her. As the muscle paralyser took effect, he unchained and lifted her over his shoulder. Then he turned, pausing long enough to sneer greedily at Soundwave. "You know, from what I heard, once we're done with the energy transfer, there won't be a _need_for this priestess. I plan to have a little fun with her before we kill her." With a dark laugh, he left the room, more than aware Soundwave's optics were following him all the way out.

**(Later, Kendra's POV)**

Groaning a little, I struggled to open my eyes, hating that they felt like they were weighted down with ten pounds weights. I knew he'd drugged me. He'd done so earlier, and yesterday. This was, in fact, my third trip to this...room. That's why I wasn't at all confused as to where I was, what was with the dead body next to me, or the large machine.

"Ah, see doc? She's awake."

I purposely ignored the leering of Sideways and Dead End, both of which had shown disturbing interest in me. No, my attention was fixed on the body lying motionless on the table next to me. The chest plates and protective covers were open, revealing the empty heart within. I watched as a tiny crab-like creature crawled all over it, and other nameless 'Cons worked on other parts.

But what really got me was... I knew that form. I knew that femme, that _dead _femme.

"Awww, aren't you gonna glare at us?"

I stared at the still form, ignoring it when tubes were stuck into my body, needles digging into cables, and the machine by my head humming ominously. _Energy transfer..._ They hadn't told me of their plan, but that part alone I'd overheard and it didn't sound promising at all.

"Zat iz enough." The little crab-like creature, Scalpel, froze over the other femme's spark chamber, watching as his 'assistants' attached tubes to her, that almost immediately began to glow.

My eyes remained glued to her, but I froze when I felt questing fingers crossing my chest. Without even really thinking about it, I focused my powers into that area, and bit back a smirk when I heard a sizzle and yelp, and the hand drew away. Then I sighed silently, my head spinning. _Whatever they're doing to me, it's not good. I'm having a harder time focusing my powers, and calling them to me in general._

"Your own fault, glitch. You know the femme's still got her powers."

"She won't for long. When the other priestess comes back, she'll take back what's hers." Came the smug reply.

_'Comes back'? _My heart very nearly froze when I heard those words. I think I finally realized what they were doing. The femme next to me really _was_ who I thought it was, and they were trying to bring her back, and were willing to give my life to do it. _So much for hoping for a rescue._

"Her body haz with held ze power from lazt tranzfer." The little Scalpel creature seemed to hop with excitement. "Two more treatmentz and ze will be ourz." He cackled darkly. "All ourz."

"What happens after this treatment?"

I felt my eyes getting heavier as I felt my energy being drained from me. My body grew colder as a pitch black aura, darker than any I'd ever seen, entered the room, causing me to gasp and shudder violently from where I was restrained. I forced my eyes open, turning to watch as everything in the other body lit up. The heart within her chest seemed to burst with light, before it faded again, but her eyes lit up and remained lit.

There was a gasp, and her body jolted. Her heart didn't light again, but the rest of her body remained active, and slowly, her bright blue eyes looked around, resting on different forms before she turned her head my way and stared at me. There was a glazed awareness in her eyes, that told me she knew _something_, but she remained quiet, even as the mechs worked over her, before stepping back.

Slowly, they began unhooking her from the machines. I felt cold and tired, but I watched, morbidly fascinated, as she slowly sat up. Her chest closed, even as her heart remained dark, and I shuddered. She had no aura, but her eyes weren't hostile when they fixed upon me again.

Low, rusted clicks and whistles sounded, before she seemed to pause. Starscream approached her, and with lightning fast reflexes, she jumped from her berth, crossing the room and glaring at him.

"Prieztez. Ze doezn't like ze dark energyz."

"She'll have to get over it if she's going to work for me." Starscream growled darkly, before his eyes landed on me. "And _you_-"

"_Work_?" The voice was low and smooth, and even through my weakness, I found myself so utterly desperate to see what was going on, I somehow managed to stay conscious, though I felt like my arms and legs were numb. The priestess, the very _same_priestess who had visited me in my dreamworld, was standing across the room, her eyes narrowed. "You... Y-You... You expeeeccct me to _work_ for _you_?!" She glared at him, before raising her arm. Her hand glowed bright blue and she snarled. "Yoouuu are evil!"

"What's this?!"

"Ze iz not fully under our control." Scalpel scuttled across the shoulders of one of his mechs. "Ze needz one more treatmentz to have full control."

"Then restrain her."

Before anyone could act, the priestess threw her ball of energy at the Decepticon between her and myself, and I watched, I'm certain my eyes were wide, as he fell to the ground, glowing brightly. I couldn't even be bothered to feel bad or hide my smirk when I noticed it was Dead End she'd hit. I watched, my eyes widening even more when she ran across the room, almost ripping the restraints from my arm, before turning and throwing another energy orb, this one hitting one of the scientists. She reached back, pulling some blade-like thing free, and I watched as it quickly transformed in her grasp into a long golden bow.

_It's really her._

She pulled back the bowstring and a glowing _pink_ arrow formed.

Then explosions rocked the base. The doors across the room flew open, and Barricade and Soundwave ran in, fully armed and blasting the 'Cons as they found them. Starscream turned to them and raised his hand, but before he could get a shot off, he was hit in the back with a glowing pink arrow, and he screamed, a shard dislodging from his shoulder plates, before he transformed in the air and took off.

Sitting up was a lot of work. My body trembled under me, and once I'd managed to make it into a sitting position, I had to close my eyes, a dizzy spell overcoming me.

"What have they done?"

Opening my eyes kept getting harder, but I managed, and I looked up. The priestess was looking at her own body, before he placed a hand over her chest, and her eyes locked on mine.

"They've forced me back, but I'm not complete." Her eyes seemed to narrow. "I need my soul." With a deep frown, she pulled on the bowstring once again, creating another arrow. This time, however, she aimed it at me.

_If I die, I don't need my soul. Is that how it works?_I stared, immobilized as she simply stood there. Then she ducked as a red blast shook the room. Spinning, she released the arrow, just managing to miss Skywarp, before she turned and took off out a different door, leaving me alone with my rescuers.

Barricade's eyes were open wide. "Wasn't that..." He looked at me. "What the slag did you do?"

Pain coursed through me, and I felt my eyes narrow. "_Me_?! What the hell do you _think_ I did? You're the one that said cooperate, so I did what you wanted. I lay back, _restrained_, and _let_ them suck my power from me."

"Enough. We must meet with the others." Soundwave moved forward, holding something in his hand.

It was then, I felt my eyes widen. _I can't... I can't see his aura!_ I blinked, but nothing happened. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus my powers, but for some reason it was horribly sluggish in responding. _What's happening?_

"Priestess."

Opening my eyes, I reluctantly looked up at Soundwave, feeling utterly horrified. He was holding something out to me, and an icy fist seemed to clench around me. Hesitantly, I reached out and took the shard, relaxing when I saw it looked the same as the others, that she'd purified it. Closing my fist around it, I sighed. Slowly, I swung my legs around the edge of the berth, and tried to stand up, but gasped as my legs seemed to turn to rubber beneath me, and I collapsed.

It was Soundwave who caught and lifted me with ease, carrying me out of the room.

Shaking my head, I didn't even bother trying to fight, knowing it was futile. He was stronger than me, and honestly? My legs felt like I'd been sitting on them the wrong way, and tingled in a pins-and-needles kind of way. Instead, I clutched at the shard in my hand and remained quiet as Soundwave ran through the halls, Barricade covering him until we made it to the Autobots.

"See? Told you I had plans for us!" Barricade grinned triumphantly. "I was building a transmitter that would be undetectable by Decepticons, that would emit an Autobot Distress signal, and then used it to hone my own signal."

"Right." I nodded, not bothering to look at him. Part of me felt bad I'd doubted his loyalty, but right now my mind was working overtime on other more pressing things. As we neared the others, I sighed, feeling my eyes narrow when I saw Optimus there and fighting too. By the looks of things, the others weren't happy with his appearance there, but his own eyes were dark with something else and he was blatantly ignoring them, even when Ironhide jumped in front of him to make a shot at an incoming Decepticon.

_Wonderful._ I thought to myself sarcastically, as I was almost immediately passed over to Ratchet for diagnosis. _I can't see auras, there's a resurrected zombie-like priestess out there, quite possibly wanting me dead for the rest of _my_soul, I can barely do sweet fack all with my powers..._ Somehow, I knew I just really _didn't_ want to ask the 'What next?' question. Even if it seemed things really couldn't get worse from here.

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**Note** : I don't usually use Scalpel and don't really know his accent, so...

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	25. Uncertainty and Longing

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note**: Excellent news! I finished my other story, finally! XD Now...whether or not to stop with the updates on this one, since either way it's incomplete, and begin with the other, or keep updating this one and start posting the other when this one is done?

*Brain dies*

.....Yeah, I'm gonna crash for a bit, but enjoy! XD

Oh! And check out my deviantart account, info's on my profile. Comments are greatly appreciated. ^^

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**(Kendra's POV)**

"Are you alright?"

"What did they do to you?"

Routine questions, right? Usually used to express concern? You fall and skin your knee and you hear them. You come down with a cold and you hear them. They're meant to show people care, and usually tolerated.

However, after the fifteenth or sixteenth time, I'd stopped repeating my answers and instead chose to start glaring at whoever asked them. It shut most of them up, but instead of asking, Ratchet had just taken to scanning me without my permission, and Optimus _obviously_ asking him about the results over their internal links.

"Do it one more time. I dare you." I finally snarled lowly, my newly repaired and returned propellers straightening in the process.

Ratchet's eyes narrowed, even as Optimus turned our way. "Your threats mean nothing to me. I am a medic, and I will fulfill my duty."

"Kendra. We are merely concerned. Your strength has returned, but you have admitted to having difficulties with your powers." Walking over, he kept a hand over his lower chest, where the sparklings sat. "If this is all because of the priestess of old, could we not ask her for help?"

"What would she do? If she has stolen your powers, perhaps she can be the key in getting them back, but... I have a theory that the _only_ way to get her powers back might very well to be to offline Sun Dancer."

Sun Dancer, the priestess of old. The original me, the one who saved Cybertron alone. Since telling the Autobots she was once again alive, they seemed to perk up. They thought it was a possible hope, especially when Barricade mentioned she attacked Starscream.

Unfortunately, neither Soundwave or Barricade had noticed her turn on me. They didn't see her chest when it was open. They thought she really was back, and not the truth. They had no idea just how big a threat she might be.

"So you think we can find her if we search?" Optimus turned to me. "Her aura would probably stand out a great deal." He seemed to tilt his head a little, as if inquiring.

I couldn't keep my eyes on his. Glancing away, I sighed. "We should..." _Should what? Run? Keep searching? I can't see auras, how the hell am I supposed to help them?!_ Closing my eyes, I tried to ignore the burn in them that threatened tears. _I could at least defend myself before, but how am I supposed to help if I can't even _see_ the threat??_

"Ken?" Rana's voice hit me, and I found myself looking down.

"Hey. Rana." I forced a smile, transforming down into my human form and giggling as Star trotted over to me, leaping effortlessly into my arms. I stared down at the little fox kit as I scratched the back of her head. _If I'm so useless, will they still want me around?_ The question held frightening answers. Swallowing heavily, I cuddled Star to me, taking comfort in her tiny form and quiet purrs.

"It's so good to have you back." Rana leaned in and surprised me with a hug, before stepping back again. "We've been worried sick."

Star yipped in response.

"My most recent scan results reveal that Kendra is once again strong enough to take her sparklings if she wishes."

I paused, my hands buried in Star's fur and my eyes locked on the ground. "I think Optimus should hang on to them for now." I had to struggle to swallow past the lump in my throat. Even if they weren't my own little ones by birth, my body and heart still cried out for them, but I couldn't afford to put them at risk. I couldn't see auras anymore, so I was in even more danger than I used to be.

There was a deep sigh. "Kendra..."

_It's now or never..._With a sigh of my own, I gently handed Star over, before stepping back to a safe distance and transforming. Then I turned, shooting Optimus a look before heading away from the temporary base. _They won't want me. They'll make me go home._

_But I'm Cybertronian like them, now. I can still fight._The problem was...would that be enough? Once I was a little distance away, I stopped, turning back. I crossed my arms over my chest, longing to touch the little sparklings, but struggling to control it as I gazed up into the confused blue eyes of his. "I can't take them. I'm not... I'm not safe, Optimus. I can't..." I bit my tongue, fear of being kick out of the group causing me to freeze in the middle of telling him the truth.

"If this is because of your weakness in purifying powers, we simply need to find the priestess."

"No." I shook my head, feeling a tear roll down my cheeks as I took a deep, shuddering breath. I was filled with pain and fear, but knew I had to tell them the truth. "We can't go to her." I watched his eyes widen and as he took a step forward. I kept my eyes on his face, only startling when his hands came down on my arms. "The Decepticons made her, but...she's not alive." I shook my head, shuddering as the horror of the thought rolled through me. "Her heart doesn't glow."

His eyes widened even more, and seemed to blink a moment, before slowly shaking his head. "I don't understand. She is...not alive."

"She's not." I stepped forward, leaning my head against the comforting hard heat of his chest, feeling him stiffen up a moment, before he almost hesitantly wrapped his arms around me. "She told me they forced her back, but she needed the rest of her soul. She... She was going to kill me." He stiffened up even more. "And that's not all. I'm...basically useless now. I dunno if I can purify anymore, and I can't..." This was the hardest part.

"The shards you hold are pure."

"The priestess purified the one from Starscream, and the other was purified before we were captured."

"But they've remained pure."

Shaking my head, I sighed. "So the shards we _have_ are pure, but what happens when we cross another shard? What if I _can't_ purify it? We'll lose the ones we've got. Besides... We won't be able to even easily _find_the other shards. Optimus..." I pulled back far enough to look up into his eyes. "I can't sense auras anymore." It was a whisper, but the shame and weakness that hit me were almost enough to floor me. "I feel completely useless."

"Do not say that." Optimus slowly pulled away, and before I could feel hurt or really acknowledge the loss of his body heat, I watched as he pulled open his chest. Gently, he removed the two femmes, handing them over, and I found myself taking them more than eagerly, holding them against me and listening to the little mewlings they were making, before cooing at them. "For one thing, you are the only femme with sparklings. You are also a fighter. _I_ believe you can still purify things if you tried, and if you are right about the priestess, we need to find her."

"I dunno what she wants. She fired at the enemy, but also almost fired at me. I saw how dark her chest was, it was...horrible." I shuddered, scritching at Sunfire's antennae and holding Moonfrost's little hand between my fingers.

"I can't begin to imagine. I wish you to stay with us. We will sort this as we go." He looked away a moment, before looking back. "We now hold nearly a dozen shards, how many does Starscream have?"

"Four." I remembered the individual glows, all varying shades of black, and all at different points in his body.

He nodded quietly. "I've sent some of the others to scout the area, looking for any signs of danger. We will remain a larger group for now, so we don't risk a repeat of what happened before."

"You didn't listen to me." It was a sudden realization. I recalled seeing him in the main fighting force, and knew he still held not only the other shards, but the sparklings as well. "I sent you away to protect you, and you came back and fought anyways!" Carefully shifting the sparklings into one hand, I reached out and punched his arm, before hissing and shaking out my hand. _Damn, forgot how hard their armor can be._

He chuckled slightly, but then paused, his eyes darkening. His eyes dropped to the sparklings I was holding out, before he pointedly took a step back. "No. _You _are their femme creator. They _need_ you. You may believe you are dangerous, but they require _your_ love and protection."

I looked down at the little ones who were both gazing at me. I felt their overwhelming sadness and sense of abandonment, even as Moonfrost reached out towards me, sending love over her link. Their eyes were so wide and innocent, I felt like my own heart was shattering, and brought them to my chest, cooing at them as I cuddled them. "I just want...them to be safe." I sent mental reassurances and love as I stroked their backs and arms.

Sunfire buried her face in my armor, settling down with ease, and Moonfrost curled up at her sister's side, following her lead. I found myself smiling as I looked up, taking in Optimus' gentle look as he nodded and smiled at me.

"So now what?"

"We continue on as we have. I am hoping we will come across the priestess on the way and find out what she is truly after. One way or another, we must sort this out."

"And...if she does want me dead?"

"I won't allow it." The strength and determination in his voice both startled and comforted me at the same time. "Kendra, the priestess of old... She offlined a long time ago. If what you say is true, she does not belong in our time, and she is not online anyways. As I said, we will figure this out when we find Sun Dancer."

It wasn't a comforting thought, but I nodded, allowing him to lead me back to the others, and noticing when both Barricade and Soundwave were watching her, the black and white 'Con wearing a softer than usual expression -though it changed pretty damn quick when he realized I was watching him- and Soundwave with his usual blank mask.

"They really have surprised us all." Optimus murmured quietly from my side. "I doubt anyone ever expected Decepticons to join us." He chuckled quietly. "Prowl's logistics subroutines glitched when we informed him they helped you escape from Decepticon captivity."

I found myself giggling at the thought, easily able to picture Prowl's head smoking as his expression went blank. Looking around, I found him holding Rana in his hand, and watched the girl converse with Mikeala and Sam in Bumblebee's palms. "He's really taken to her."

"Hm... Indeed. He's put it upon himself to remain her guardian since you first appointed him as such. I believe they have grown fond of each other."

"Indeed." I smirked as I echoed him, and listened to him chuckle again. "Optimus... What... I mean, _if_we get all the shards and put the allspark back together again, what should I wish for?"

"What do you want?"

"I want everyone to be happy."

"I am uncertain a single wish can accomplish that." He almost sounded uncertain about saying the words. "So many wish for so much, every wish varying slightly from the next. I don't know if I believe it's possible to make everyone happy with _one_ wish."

"But...I think it is. I know of a wish... I think it would make everyone happy, but something inside tells me I'll be tearing so many families apart, even if they never know it." I willed opened my chest when I felt my femmes' hunger, placing them within the little hold before closing my chest again. "It feels...like the right thing to do, but so painful."

"If it is so painful, then perhaps it's not the right thing to do. What is it you want to wish for?"

I opened my mouth, fully intending to tell him, but then I remembered who he was. Optimus Prime. He always put others before himself. Would he not find fault with my wish? Him more than anyone else? Or would he, for the sake of his people, think it was a good idea?

Before I had a chance to discover the answer for myself, let alone tell him, the sound of several powerful engines came flying in our direction. I turned, spotting a yellow Camaro followed by the 'Vette' twins. They skidded to a stop before Optimus and myself, before quickly transforming.

_**Reporting for duty, Captain!**_ Bumblebee saluted smartly before smiling at me and waving, a little warble escaping him. _**Target located.**_His eyes dimmed momentarily, before brightening, and I turned to Optimus.

The large bot nodded almost absently, before his own eyes seemed to brighten. "Ahh, I see. Another school. It seems, however, other than the occasional missing student, it isn't much. Still, we should check into it." He nodded.

My heart fluttered nervously, and I found myself leaning against Optimus' arm a little. When I realized what I was doing, I blinked and felt my cheeks warm and cooling fans kick in as I looked up, spotting him looking down at me. "Uh, sorry. I'm just...a little nervous about this."

"You will not be alone." He nodded a little, even as I pulled away.

That was of little comfort. Having lost the ability to sense auras was a huge fright for me. Sure I could fight, but I hated that the difference wasn't as clear as it was. Now I'd have to pay extra close attention to whom I fought and everything in my surroundings, and even then...

"Come. Lets go get the others."

With an almost admittedly absent nod, I found myself rubbing at my stomach as I went, not really looking forward to this. Without my full power, I felt incomplete, and that was definitely going to hang over my head.

* * *

**Shard Tally** :

Good Guys = 10

Bad Guys = 4

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	26. Showed Up

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(????'s POV)**

The entourage was larger than I expected. At least when I came back, they were _kind_ enough to update my memories. Although, _those _bots and _kindness_ were not two words that fit in the same sentence. _So_much time had passed since my last breath. So much had changed! All the Primes were gone but for one, the last. The planet was destroyed, and the number of of living Cybertronians was unknown, but estimated to be small.

Why wasn't I frightened or upset about it? No, that's not right. I _was_ upset, but the magnitude of it was far less than I expected.

I knew all about the two factions that had formed due to the war. Autobot and Decepticon. Good guy and bad. What used to be one people was now two, each fighting the other, their reasons varying. I knew about the massacre on femmes and sparklings.

I knew it all.

And yet I couldn't answer one simple question, as I watched the entourage from a distance just out of their scanning range. Why...? Why was I not happy to see so many of the good guys together? Why did I feel so empty?

I flew behind them, my cloaking program engaged and my signal scrambled just enough to deter long range sensors. _Maybe it's because I don't belong._ I was more than aware that my time ended long ago. I was...more than aware that I didn't belong here. Not now. Yet, something in me refused to allow me to leave. I knew work had to be done, even though a priestess existed in this time to do it.

My reincarnation. Why did I want her dead? Was it because I felt she wasn't good enough? Because she held the rest of my power and life force? Or simply because?

With a silent sigh, I followed after the group, my eyes dancing over all their forms, but lingering longest on the silver rescue copter and the blue and red flame decaled Semi. As my eyes danced over _his_ form, I smiled to myself. _Noble and brave._ It's what his form seemed to radiate, strength and kindness with a nobility that told of a Prime.

Yes, he _was_ most definitely a Prime.

**(Kendra's POV)**

I shuddered a little as I stood, already transformed down to my human form, running a hand over my stomach a little, before standing in front of Rana and Mikeala for inspection. "So?" I'd changed since we'd paused at a hotel briefly. We were registered for the night, but since it was still early, had time to check out the school. I'd changed out of my battle uniform into something Mikeala and Rana had picked out.

Because I looked younger, they were going to play on that. They'd chosen a pleated checkered skirt in navy blue and white, that came to mid thigh. It was a little shorter than I was really comfortable with, and it didn't help they stuck me in high pumps with an ankle strap, and a button up white shirt over a dark blue tank, both of which were a little tight for me. I felt it was a little over the top, but apparently Mikeala was the fashion expert on this.

Looking over my shoulder, I felt my cheeks warm when I spotted Optimus Prime facing us, and looked past him. _Not like he'd notice. Attraction to an Autobot isn't the same as attraction to a human._. All the vehicles were in different stages of parking, but because of how I was dressed and where we were going, it was already decided I'd be going in Sideswipe, and considering _he_never went anywhere without his brother, Rana and Mikeala would be travelling in _him_. I would have preferred Optimus, but he was too big for the parking lot, and Prowl stood out too much as a cruiser.

_Damn._

There _was _the slight feeling like we were being watched, but I pushed it aside as I turned back, waiting for the girls to make their final judgement. _Just paranoid without my full abilities._

"I like it, but...something's missing." Rana placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully.

Mikeala nodded, tilting her own head. "Oh!" She snapped her fingers, and I rolled my eyes in good nature as I sighed, standing still when she ran around me, pulling a hair elastic from her wrist as she went. "Make sure the necklace is concealed, in case there's a shard holder there." She advised, pulling my hair back into a messy high ponytail. "There!"

_If there's a shard holder there, they'll sense it anyways._ I thought, even as I kept silent and buttoned up another two buttons before rolling my eyes. "You made the shirt too tight to go over my chest, 'Keala." My necklace was in full view, but I hoped it wouldn't catch too much attention. I was almost _hoping_ the school would be full of regular hormonal teenagers. At least then they'd ignore the ten shards hanging around my heck in order to stare at my breasts which, thanks to Mikeala, where practically hanging out in the open.

"Oh well! I like it." Rana nodded with a giggle once Mikeala finished. "Perfect. Come on, we'd better hurry." She turned and patted the yellow hood, ignoring the way the engine revved angrily as she hopped into the passenger seat.

I turned and nodded thankfully at Mikeala before heading to the driver side of the silver Corvette, climbing into the door as it opened. "Ready, Sides?"

"You got it! Optimus and Ironhide will follow at a distance while the others spread out and try to locate anymore shards nearby." The car fell silent a moment. "Oh, and Sunny says next time I'm taking all _three_ of you. Apparently Rana's already put her feet up on his dash."

I laughed a little. "And I wouldn't be surprised if there was a 'Don't call me that' somewhere in there."

He chuckled. "You know him too well."

"I guess I do." I smiled fondly at the idea. Sunstreaker and I didn't get along, but that was ok. Sunstreaker really didn't get along with many, other than his brother and Bee, really. Same went for Ironhide. He was a stubborn old mech, except with Chromia, and apparently Will says Annabelle. _Poor baby. She's probably missing him right now._Vaguely, I toyed with the idea of taking a brief break to visit families. I mean, who knew how long this mission would go on? And who knew what would happen in the meantime? Sam, Mikeala, even Epps and Lennox... They all had families waiting for them at home.

Surely a day or two of break wouldn't do much harm.

Still, I kept the thought to myself, as Sideswipe squealed up into the parking lot and slid into an empty space, his brother quickly pulling in at his side. "You know, if you don't wanna get us in trouble, you might wanna be a little more careful." I scolded with a smirk as he cut the engine, patting the steering wheel as I climbed out. "See ya in a few." Making a show of closing the door behind me, I walked around the hood to meet up with Mikeala and Rana. "Ready?"

They exchanged a look before shrugging and eyeing the massive stone structure. I took the lead, keeping an eye out. A frown had already crossed my face when I was so blatantly reminded my powers were weaker and I couldn't see auras. Squinting a little, I focused and froze. "Well, we got the right place." A blink and the dark aura that surrounded the place was gone. I looked over my shoulder at the girls. "Keep an eye out."

We made our way inside, and I paused once again, seeing students milling around. _Looks normal enough._It was around the end of Summer Break, the time when students registered for classes, and Summer school was just letting out. I pushed past one parent, who looked almost frightened as he pushed his way out of the school. Pausing outside of the office, I once again found myself placing my hand over my stomach, almost unconsciously, as I felt the sparklings shifting.

My heart hummed uncomfortably, as I hesitated. _Can I really do this?_I looked to Mikeala and Rana, who almost seemed to understand my hesitation and nodded encouragingly at me. Taking a deep breath, I turned. I brushed against a girl on my way into the office and shuddered. Because I didn't have full control of my powers, it wasn't zapping people the way it used to, which was an upside, but it didn't stop me from feeling almost physically sick when I brushed against darkness.

Shaking off the disturbed feeling, I walked up to the main desk and waited for someone to notice me.

I didn't have to wait long. An elder man smiled and walked forward. "Hello there. I don't believe I've seen you here before." There was something in his tone that made my fingers dig at the table all the more. "What can I do for you?"

Ignoring the leering, I forced a smile. "Um, my sisters and I are...new to the area, and were looking into a school." I glanced over my shoulder quickly, and nearly sagged in relief to see Mikeala and Rana standing by the door.

"I'm afraid one of you is too young." Though that didn't stop him from leering at her a little more than necessary.

"It's for my other sister and myself." I amended quickly. "We just don't have anyone who can watch over our little sister." I spotted the way Rana ducked her face and Mikeala pulled her closer and realized we really had become like family. At least Mikeala and Rana, and Rana and myself. I'm not sure Mikeala and I were _that_ close yet. I turned back to the head guy.

He had a single eyebrow raised and something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone too quick for me to really identify, even if it made my hackles rise. I felt the power rise with my unease but tramped it down as I forced another smile. "We were wondering if we could have a look around at the facilities?"

"You talk a lot more maturely than I would have expected from a teenage girl."

Was that suspicion in his tone? Well at least this guy might not have been as much of a dumb ass as I thought originally. I nodded. "Growing up on our own kinda helped my sisters and I to mature faster." I watched as he nodded, seeming preoccupied. "We would just like to wander around the school and take a few pictures of the halls and some of the empty classes, to look over and think it over." It was hard to sound casual, when you were more than aware what you were asking was suspicious and kind of creepy.

Still, he simply nodded again, waving his hand in a brief dismissal, before turning away. "Please, feel free. Unfortunately, I have some things to attend to-"

_Not normal procedure for sure._I nodded. "That's fine." Turning, I walked to the doorway and took the camera from Mikeala. When I took it, I felt a jolt of electricity run through me, but ignored it as I turned. _Damn static._ Shaking my hand, I paused a moment. _That wasn't static._The relief with knowing I still had at least a portion of my power, was almost palpable, but as it was, I could only stare dumbfounded at the camera, wondering why on earth it felt so staticky when I touched it. It was just an inanimate object, with no aura of it's own.

Shaking off my thoughts, I raised the camera and focused, thankful it was a digital and able to create instant playbacks of images. I looked around the room, unable to get over the feeling _something_ was wrong with this utterly normal scene, before shaking my head and clicking a picture. Playing it back, I froze and felt my heart skip a pulse at what I was seeing.

Glancing at my 'sisters' I turned the camera for them to see. "Am I seeing things?" I hissed, leaning in close.

Their eyes widened and Rana's paled, while Mikeala took a good look around the room in front of us, before she turned to me and shook her head. "Not unless we're all seeing things."

The picture I'd taken showed the office, but... Instead of the almost pristine office we were standing in, filled with about half a dozen humans milling around doing sweet fack all, the picture showed the long term effects of being an abandoned building. The windows were shattered and covered in a fine layer of film. The main desk was collapsing in on itself, and the computers behind it... Well, they weren't there in the picture.

The walls were covered in vines of full of holes, and the floor wasn't much better. And the _humans_... Let's not even get into _that._ Let's just say there was no one _alive_ in that picture.

"What the hell is this?" I kept my voice low, even as I leaned the camera at a different angle, pointing it towards the office and snapping another picture. Same thing, but this time it showed the windows and corpses surrounded by a blackened 'glow' of sorts.

"It's just a camera. Wait, you don't think...like, it's possessed, do you?" Mikeala shuddered and leaned away a little.

"A _camera_? No. I mean, I _think_ I...purified it. I felt a jolt-" Rana snickered and I shot her a dirty look even as I blushed. "No pun intended. I felt a shock run through me into it."

"So do you think it's showing us what our eyes can't see? Didn't reports say the school had been closed for years, but over the last few months it came back? Someone had 'bought' it and stuff?"

It made all of too much sense. Something felt wrong with what we were seeing, and if this was all one big illusion... "Now what?" I turned and left the office, heading towards the main lobby and taking another picture.

Once again, walls were falling in on themselves. Windows were shattered and the floor was rotting away in some areas. The trophy case by the front door was filled with what looked like black ooze-covered trophies, and once again the humans in the area were nothing more than black mist-covered corpses.

"I can't sense auras. I can't sense the shard." I frowned deeply. "I can't even see through this illusion." I had my back to the front door at this point, but seeing Mikeala and Rana gaze past me, their eyes widening, I froze, feeling _something_ move behind me.

"But _I _can. Perhaps you should allow me to find the shard." The voice was velvety and smooth. Deep and feminine and very attractive.

Turning, I spotted a woman who looked disturbingly like me, only older and more graceful. Her hair was darker, though not quite as dark as Mikeala's, and her eyes almost appeared to be pitch black. I knew immediately who it was. "You. Huh, so what? You got my ability to see and sense things, as well as half _my_ soul?" I knew I was being horribly rude, but I was still kind of stuck on the fact she'd pointed a freaking _bow_ at me, appearing fully intending to kill me.

Her eyes narrowed and she stepped closer. "You are my reincarnation. Thus the soul was _mine_ before it was yours. As for powers, we both contain half, you simply don't know how to focus yours to achieve the same progress you could before." Tilting her head a little, she moved past me, facing forward, but she stopped at my side, leaning in towards my ears. "_I_ am the true priestess, not a helpless human girl."

I turned back, glowering at her. "_I_ didn't _chose_ to be born human, _or_ your reincarnation. Huh, poor me." The sarcasm practically rolled off me.

Her eyes seemed to flash with something, but for the most part, her expression remained empty. "You should go home. I can take over from here. You are no longer needed." Turning her back to me, she continued on, never once turning back to me as she rounded a corner and disappeared.

_You are no longer needed._

The pain was immense, and I swallowed heavily, fighting it down as I turned and walked out of the building. _Maybe she's right. After all, just because the camera showed me what my eyes couldn't, doesn't mean I knew what to fight, or how to fight it._I looked around and walked across the parking lot, completely bypassing the two Corvettes as I made my way to the Peterbuilt. Optimus' holoform was already leaning against the grill, looking troubled. _He knows._ I blinked and frowned a little as I walked over to him. _But...does he agree?_

* * *

**Note**: This chapter idea is loosely based on a (really fragging creepy) dream I had. -.-'

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	27. Goodbye?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(A Week Later)**

So it was true. She'd spoken with Optimus about joining us and he allowed it, despite what I'd told him about her. His reasoning? She told him the truth about her being not alive, but walking around. She also told him of her abilities and her desire to make Starscream pay for forcing her back the way he had.

Call me crazy, but couldn't she done that anyways, just by giving me back my powers and letting _me_ handle it?

It might have sounded selfish, but I wanted nothing more than for her to go back to where she belonged. It didn't help she didn't bother to practically point out how little she thought of me, constantly referring to me as the 'weaker' one, or 'her incarnation'. Never by name. She'd even brought up on multiple occasions that I should just go home, and let them continue on.

After all, it was her who brought us the next three shards, first from the school, and then two more in Vancouver and Iqaluit. Now we were heading back to Ontario, to check out the East Coast of North America before we headed south, to the border. We'd be heading right past my home town, and once again she didn't waste any time in bringing up my uselessness.

My only saving grace was that Optimus, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Sides all valiantly fought to keep me around, with quieter 'yay's and 'nay's from the others. Obviously, the only thing Sunstreaker cared about was getting the shards as fast as possible, so he was on the 'nay' part, agreeing I was only holding them back, much to Sideswipe's disapproval.

And to my surprise, Ironhide was one of the ones on the 'yay' list, in keeping me around. His excuse was that I'd proven myself.

Was it bad I was still thinking Priestess Sun Dancer was right?

Walking off alone, I wasn't really surprised when it didn't stay that way. Before I'd been gone for ten minutes, I had Rana and Star plopping down on a rock across from me. We were stopped off at the temporary base once again, where everyone was packing up. The priestess disappeared off on her own to do God-only-knows-what, and the others were split up.

"Hey."

I nodded, before turning my face down.

"What's wrong?"

_How? How do I say it without sounding like a coward?_ The twins fluttered in my stomach in unease, and I sighed, patting my rounding stomach slightly, a ghost of a smile crossing my face at the brief though of the two little ones growing so quickly. _Back on topic._

"Kendra? You... You've been so quiet. I'm...a little worried." There was a yip, and an almost nervous laugh. "Ok, ok. _We're_ a little worried."

_They're worried... Think how _I_ feel._ I rolled my eyes, while keeping my eyes on the ground. _I'm debating on going home, and my heart feels like it's tearing in two because of it. _I had to suddenly close my eyes as the tell tale burn of tears hit me.

"Should I get Optimus? Or Ratchet?"

"No." _Optimus is the last one I wanna see._ It might have been irrational and stupid, but I sort of blamed him for all this. I didn't trust the past version of me, and even knowing everything she was and did, he still trusted her in the group. Even with her blatant disapproval of _me_, he kept her around. "I'm just... I think I'm gonna go home."

"...Wh...What?!" Before I knew what was going on, I felt movement and something warm on my knees. Even as I opened my eyes, I found a cold wet nose pressed against my own, and warm hands tilting my head up. "Why??"

I blinked to find Star in my lap, looking up at me with a tilt of her head. Glancing up, I saw the pain and confusion in Rana's eyes, and I sighed. "Well... For one, all we've been doing is hunting shards, for well over two months. I could use a break. I could...use time to practice with my powers. Let's not forget there are other humans in the group that have families, too. I'm sure they wouldn't mind seeing them and ensuring they're ok."

"You're running away."

I had to swallow heavily. "Think of it as you want, but you have do admit, I've done all of sweet fack all in the hunts the last week. It's been all her. I'm no help as I am, and she's right. Because of the sparklings, the shards I hold, I'm a threat. If I leave, go to a place where there is no darkness and stay there, I can practice with my powers, and they can come get the shards when they have the rest. Right?"

"_She's_ the one who doesn't belong, you know."

"Is she?" I raised an eyebrow, even as I curled my arms around Star and pulled her closer to me. "She was born into this. She knows all about Cybertron, and what happened before. She has answers to questions I haven't even _found_yet. She can do what I can't. You can't tell me having her here hasn't benefited the group."

"I don't like how she's keeping the shards."

"She's not keeping them all. Remember, Optimus has the corner piece, and I have my nine." I sighed, stroking Star's fur. "Besides, with the Decepticons out there, it's probably better not to keep all the shards in one place."

Frowning, Rana looked away a moment, towards the town, before looking back. "What about the others? Doesn't the idea of leaving bother you."

I actually allowed the tears to fall at that, letting them answer her for me. "What do you think? But this... This is the right thing to do." I sighed and laughed, although it was a bitter laugh. "Why are the right things always the hardest to do? Leaving now, the wish..."

"The wish?" Rana crowded in close, kneeling in the fallen leaves of the trees surrounding us and leaning her chin on her arms as she looked up at me. "What wish?"

"The wish once the allspark is one. _If_ I'm still allowed to make it, I've decided on what I'm going to wish for, but it's going to destroy so much. The only upside is no one will ever know just _how_much it's going to hurt." I closed my eyes again. "I'm going to wish the Cybertronian war never did or will happen. It will bring back all their loved ones, stop their planet from being destroyed, make it so they never have to leave it."

"What?!"

I hesitated in opening my eyes, knowing the look of hurt and betrayal her single word spoke volumes about. "Think about it. If they never come to earth, they'll never meet any of us. I'll never change, Optimus will never have to kill his brother, the world will never have been put in danger... Your family will be alive and fine, and you'll never have known Prowl."

"You can't do that."

Finally, I resigned myself to the look and opened my eyes. "But don't you see? They'll be happy. They'll be with family and friends, have a true home they don't have to hide themselves on. They won't have to fight every day, or spend all their time looking over their shoulders. Bee will never have met Sam, so he won't miss him. Prowl will never have met you, so he won't miss you. There won't be any pain because no one will know the others, or what they're missing out on." Funnily enough, the idea almost sounded twisted to me.

"At least, that's what I wanted to wish for, but now it seems I won't get the chance anyways, so I guess it doesn't matter. Either way, I don't belong here. The main foes we're fighting are monsters, and I can't even see what we're fighting against. What good am I? I should go home. Practice my archery and powers. Sun Dancer can travel with the others. It's not like they _need_ me." The last two sentences were said in raspy sentences, as I hated saying them, even if it was true.

"I'm coming too, then!"

My eyes shot up to hers as I felt as though my chest was constricting. "You can't. Prowl's your guardian and he needs to stay here with the others."

She shook her head. "I don't care. I'm still going with you. You saved me, and you've been there for me. Like hell I'm just gonna turn and leave you." Her eyes glittered even as she smiled a shaky smile. "I don't like it. I don't think you do, either. But we'll go. We'll... We'll go home. We'll practice fighting, and maybe... One day we'll come back?"

How could I tell her it was highly unlikely? After all, it hurt this much just to _contemplate_ leaving. How would it feel when I actually did, and would I have the strength to ever come back?

Most of all, what would I have to deal with, when I told the others of my decision?

**(Normal POV)**

"No."

"You don't understand-"

"I understand all too well." He had a feeling his optics were as sympathetic as he felt, but he wondered if they showed anything of his personal pain. "We need you, and you will not be safe on your own."

"What good is a priestess with half her powers?" Kendra tilted her head a little, holding Rana and Star in her palm, her optics locked on the ground.

Mikeala scoffed from Bumblebee's palm. "About as good as a priestess with half her powers."

There was a slightly bitter laugh. "No. She's better. She might only have half her power, but she has all the knowledge on how to use it. Something I lack. I haven't done anything with these last few hunts. I've sat around uselessly."

"That's not true."

"Don't you dare!" Her shout was enough to startle all the Autobots and Decepticons staring her down. About the only one not present at this meeting was the older priestess herself, who refused to listen to whatever Kendra had to say. "_What _have I done?!" Her impassioned shout had even Optimus Prime silent. "What have I done other than sitting on my ass while _she_ did all the work!" She seemed to bite her lip as she looked away again, clearly holding back on what she truly wanted to say.

"Besides..." Now it was Rana who spoke up, though she seemed uncertain about her words. "We've been shard hunting for a while, and Kendra brought up that the humans have families they haven't seen in a while. It can't be _that_ bad to take a day or two off for them to visit family. Then you and the older priestess can continue shard hunting." She, too, appeared to be editing what she truly wanted to say.

"I do not like this." Prowl shook his head, his optics dark and his arms folded over his chest. "If they leave, so do I. I've taken Rana as my charge, and I would be remiss in my duties if I allowed her to leave alone, but I also do not feel right leaving my Prime alone with a creature that is not even alive."

"Yeah, speak of the leech." Everyone turned to Jazz, who shrugged. "What? That's what she is. She's living off Kendra's life force, and you Prime." He raised an optic ridge. "I'm surprised you've allowed her to continue stealing Kendra's life."

"I..." He seemed troubled. "She came to us to help us. Certainly she made her objectives uncertain at first, but she's only proven herself since joining. Kendra has shown no other signs of weakening other than her powers. I do not believe in simply killing-"

"Dude, she's not _alive_ to_ kill_." This time it was Sideswipe. "She's undead, like a freakin' human zombie! You see it, too! Not to mention, the femme has no emotions." He, too, clearly disapproved of continuing on with her.

"Guys." Kendra's voice was quiet, but everyone went silent as they turned to her. She was once again looking up, but her optics were blank of emotion. "We're all missing the point here. She's...helped." Her voice hitched at the last word, and Optimus had to physically restrain himself from going to her. "She's helped get shards. She can see auras. She can sense shards. _She_ is what you need, to save lives." She shook her head. "I need...to practice. I need to regain control. I need...to go home."

Optimus clenched his dental plates as he stared at her, wanting to continue arguing. HIs optics gazed over her, his spark clenching in a completely unfamiliar and almost uncomfortable fashion as he really processed what she was asking. She wanted to leave. He'd not see her again, quite possibly ever. No travelling with her inside his alternate form. No listening to her speak, joking around with the youngling she'd taken in like a sister.

And the sparklings... His spark burst with pain at the thought of not seeing them again, the urge to bond with them growing very nearly overwhelming. Shuttering his optics, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I will go as well then."

"No." Kendra's answer shattered his spark, and he couldn't open his optics again as burning seemed to tease up his nasal passages, towards them. "Someone needs to lead the others. Someone needs to continue the search. If the Decepticons become a problem again, you'll need to be there to lead your troops into battle."

Ok, so she had valid reasons. It didn't stop her answer from hurting him. "Ironhide will lead them." His onlined his optics once he was certain he had his emotions under control. "As you said, we could all use a temporary vacation. I will remain with you until you-"

"I'm not...." She froze, her optics pained, and her lip plates clamping shut on whatever it was she'd been about to say. Even Rana turned to look at her in confusion and concern. Shaking her head, Kendra's optics narrowed. "No, Prime. You have a mission, you can't just abandon it. It's going to take time for me to...practice. Time you can't afford to spend in a 'vacation', which is _why_ I only said 'a day or two' for the humans. Think about it, the longer we argue, the more people are dying."

"Then stop arguing and lets keep hunting." Sunstreaker rolled his optics like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She ignored him, strangely enough. That alone was enough to tell Optimus more was wrong than she was letting on. Kendra never turned down the opportunity to verbally spar with Sunstreaker.

"I'll be leaving immediately." She bowed her head. "It was...actually...surprisingly nice...travelling with you guys." Her voice trembled, but her face was turned to the ground, so Optimus could not tell her expression.

_She won't allow me to go._The pain seemed to refuse to fade, even as Optimus looked around. He could tell none of his soldiers and friends wanted this, but they could all see her mind was made up, and as much as they hated to admit it, several were agreeing with her reasons over his internals. He sighed. "Prowl will go with you." He glanced at Prowl. _**'That's not a request.'**_

His second in command merely nodded. _**'Thank you, sir.'**_

"I will go as well." Soundwave spoke up, surprising everyone.

"Oh, pit no!" Ironhide got into his face. "I knew it! This was your plan all along, wasn't it? Get her alone so you can rob her of all the shards??"

"If that was the case, tin can, we'd have done that when she was in Decepticon capture back at the base." Barricade rolled his optics. "I go where Soundwave goes." He shrugged a little. "Even if it's to babysit some pathetic former squishy whose feeling sorry for herself."

**CLANG!**

"'Ey! Watch it 'Wave! Pit! What's with all the dents?!"

Most of the bots broke up into chuckles at the antics of the two Decepticons, even though they felt torn about all this. The only ones not laughing were Soundwave and Barricade, Kendra, Rana, Optimus, and Prowl, who were all more torn about this sudden change of situation more than anyone else.

Even as Kendra said her goodbyes and transformed, leaving Rana to travel with Prowl, Soundwave and Barricade -Blackout had been ordered to remain with the Autobots. Safety in numbers- Optimus felt like she was leaving with his spark. The pain overwhelmed him, and it was only on autopilot he was able to turn and leave with the rest.

* * *

**Shard Tally** :

Good Guys = 13

Bad Guys = 4

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	28. Home?

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(The Next Day, Normal POV)**

He watched her in her humanoid form, fighting the monsters with ease. Of course he noticed it when she got tired. They all did, but that's when Lennox, Epps and several other soldiers would jump in to help her, and she'd shoot _him_ a pointed, disapproving stare. She didn't want the help, but he'd already informed her that if she was going to work with his team, it would be by his rules.

Funny how Kendra never complained.

With a sigh, he shuttered his optics as his processors ran back to the younger femme. _She chose this. This is... This is what she wanted._ Yet, no matter how many times he reassured himself of that, his spark kept tugging him back towards the border, and towards the troops he'd left behind. _What's wrong with me?_ If his troops had been in trouble, he would have know it by now.

Onlining his optics, he turned towards the battle, watching Sun Dancer shoot a glowing ball of energy at a serpentine creature, and spotting when it fell, lying twitching on the ground. Without wasting her opportunity, she reached out and picked the shard out of it's body, purifying it with her touch and then shoving it in her pocket.

_That's another thing. Kendra wasn't so blatantly hoarding all the shards._

_**'I don't like this. You might not like needlessly killing things, but if she's not even **_**alive**_** to begin with, is it really considered 'killing'?'**_

He kept his optics on the scene before him, as Sun Dancer moved towards his driver side door, having taken the same liberties as Kendra and sitting within him. He tried to tell himself it was ok, that it worked best this way, but he couldn't help but inwardly cringe away from the iciness of her touch as she trailed fingers over his paint job. He grit his dental plates and barely with held a shudder when she climbed into him and settled down.

It was quite obvious she'd taken a personal interest in him, even if she didn't actively show it in any way but through little touches. It was something that made him feel almost...dirty.

He couldn't get over the fact that it was wrong. She didn't feel right. Not only because she was old, and gave off no discernable energy signature, but because she felt horribly out of place inside his body. _She_ wasn't the one he wanted there.

_**'Or maybe you've just grown...'fond' of the elder priestess.'**_

Optimus gunned his engine angrily at the insinuation from Sunstreaker, who may have agreed to having this priestess along, but was finding it more and more uncomfortable around her, and wasn't hiding the fact.

"Is something wrong?" Sun Dancer tilted her head, her eyes blank of emotion and her tone even.

He knew she had no access to their internal channels, which he was unusually grateful for. _**'Enough, Sunstreaker.'**_ He winced internally when the warning came out harsher than he'd intended as he pulled out after the others. "No, just the twins bickering as usual." _**'This is what Kendra wanted.'**_

There was a scoff over Ironhide's line. _**'Never realized our Prime was so dense.'**_

He bristled at the insult, even though a lot of his troops seemed to agree. He couldn't understand what they were talking about, or why they'd chosen _now_ to say these things. When he'd okayed Kendra to go home alone, he'd felt it was the wrong decision. Ever since, it only seemed to grow _more_ wrong. Was this what they were talking about? But they knew he wasn't happy with this decision, he was just respecting her wishes.

_**'It's not his fault he's blind to it.'**_ Chromia admonished, without any real scolding in her voice.

Glancing over to the purple bike riding at the side of the Topkick, Optimus frowned. _**'Blind to what?'**_

_**'See?'**_

_**'It's his own fault! If he weren't so fragging blind to Kendra's real reasons for leaving, he would've done the right thing long ago.'**_ This time it came from Blackout, who hadn't known Kendra long, but had been around for the priestess versus priestess bit. He was nothing, if not observant.

Since joining their entourage and proving themselves, Barricade, Soundwave and Blackout had been welcomed to the Autobot internal comm link channel. They had no access to the private channel, but for public information, they could hear it, and none of the bots were even bothering to make this discussion private.

_**'**_**What**_** am I apparently 'not' seeing?!'**_ He could feel his hackles rising, so to speak. He found himself thinking of Kendra and noticing that his spark only ached more, the further he got. _Who am I to ignore my spark? Especially when I can't help but feel it's pulling me the right way?_ He sighed again. _But if she really didn't want to leave..._

_**'That you're humoring a corpse, Prime.'**_ This time it was Ratchet, clearly not happy. _**'That you've sided with someone she considers the enemy, she doesn't trust. That you chose to accept the undead femme when you were told she should not be trusted. That you allow her to remain...in whatever state she is in, knowing it hurts Kendra.'**_

_**'But it isn't hurting her...is it?'**_

_**'Not in the literal sense.'**_' Ratchet sighed, knowing Prime was being particularly dense, but also knowing the pain of the decision before him. Did he go back and retrieve the priestess that _belonged _on this mission, or keep this one here, knowing she could turn on any of them at any moment and that she truly didn't belong? To return either of them to life, he'd have to permanently offline the other. It wasn't a decision he envied the great Prime, and in all honesty, he wouldn't have been surprised if Optimus' cluelessness about the situation was in part due to the magnitude of this decision.

_**'But it hurts her emotionally. She feels you betrayed her.**_' His sensors were good for far more than just physical injuries, and after reading humans so long, he'd come to recognize certain expressions and symptoms.

Optimus skidded to a stop as Ratchet's words seemed to bounce around within his processor. He had just enough sense to pull off the road as the pain struck his spark, this time ten times worse, and it was very nearly crippling. His spark hummed hotly in agony, and he gritted his dentals in order to reign in the pained cry he nearly let slip. _She feels I betrayed her...?_

That explained the dark expression on her face, and her easy denial of having him around. He suddenly really thought about the last week with both priestesses around, their interactions, the derisive comments the elder priestess would shoot out, and the high tensions between the both of them.

_**'Tell me something, Optimus. Wasn't the priestess of old noted most for her kindness and acceptance of all? Wouldn't that priestess know she doesn't belong in this time? Would **_**that**_** priestess not know that giving up her false existence was the right thing to do?'**_

He swallowed heavily, knowing that his troops where right, but... He couldn't just kick her out of the team. He couldn't suddenly demand she give up her semi-life...could he? _If she's not an ally, she'll become the enemy._ But wasn't that what she was, already, tearing everyone apart? She showed no compassion or kindness to anyone. It was as if she didn't know emotion.

"Is there a problem?"

_Yes._ But how to bring it up? Optimus had to make difficult decisions often, but to out right take a life? Even if the owner wasn't classified as living to begin with? _**'How can we ask a living being to give up her life?'**_ Had they all realized all of this before? The sheer strength of the damage his naivety was causing the ones he cared about?

The lines went totally silent at his question, and he spotted several of the bots almost skidding to their own stops. It was actually Bumblebee who as the first to speak up, his internal voice crackling and timid.

_**'Why would you want Kendra to give up her life?'**_

It was as if Megatron himself had grasped his spark, pulling it harshly until it was difficult to speak. It took him three tries to get the oxygen needed to properly formulate the next words, and keep the accusation and rage out of them. _**'Why the pit would you think I was referring to Kendra?!'**_

_**'You said 'ask a 'living' being to give up her life'. Prime, not one of us consider that thing sitting inside you a 'living being'.'**_

"If there is a problem, you would do well to speak up. I have no access to your internal communications system."

"I need to transform." He unbuckled the belt around the priestess and opened the door for her, his engine running hot even as she hesitated, before climbing out. _**'I was referring to Sun Dancer. How can I ask her to give up her existence?'**_

_**'It's not hers to keep in the first place.'**_

_**'I can remedy that.'**_

Rolling his optics at the troops around him, Optimus transformed, followed by the others. Turning on the priestess as she transformed, he felt his optics narrow. _What am I to do? No matter what I ask, she will undoubtedly fight the decision. She won't simply hand over the shards...will she? And will Kendra even _want_ to come back, after the injustice I've caused her?_

With pain flaring up in his spark and making focus difficult, Optimus Prime swallowed heavily, his optics raising to meet the empty ones of the femme standing across from him. He attempted to put into words what his heart finally knew was right, though he knew it wouldn't be easy.

**(Kendra's POV)**

I sighed as I sat on the porch. I looked out at the large metallic Ravage, who seemed quite interested in Star, and couldn't help the small, sad smile that crossed my face. _A creature born on earth, transformed into a Cybertronian, attracted to a born Cybertronian millenia older than her._ The idea was almost ironic, and I forced my eyes away as I spotted the familiar slicked back black hair of Barricade, as his human holoform lolled around on the grass. "Talk about star-crossed lovers." I murmured.

Even as I watched Star looking at Ravage, her head tilted, I found myself imagining myself with Optimus. The way we'd almost instantly seemed to take to each other. We sparred, we spoke, he was only too happy to learn more about earth, or teach about Cybertron.

The only difference was, in the end, he chose a more or less zombie-femme to me.

Getting up from the porch, I felt the little ones crawling around inside me as I strolled over and plopped down next to Barricade, ignoring his warning glare. _He's just a more cranky version of Sunstreaker._ Which was a little freaky, considering I'd _met_ Sunstreaker and wasn't sure such a thing was even _possible._ "Hey." I willed my chest plates to part, allowing the little ones to crawl out onto my hands before willing them shut again.

I didn't notice the way his eyes softened, or the way he lay back, staring at the little ones. Without really even thinking about it, I reached out and sat them on his chest, much to his obvious shock, before grabbing my 'purified' camera and snapping a picture. It came out nice and clear, and was actually surprisingly sweet, considering Barricade wasn't glaring for once.

"Funny. With how nasty you are to people, and then how sweet you are to sparklings." I watched as he glared at me, before turning back to the sparklings, reaching out swiftly to catch Moonracer, who was trying to stand, and almost toppled sideways off his chest. "Then again, I suppose sparklings can bring out the best in everyone." I sighed, watching fondly as he held the two little ones close to him.

Sighing, Barricade rolled his black holo-eyes. "You know, if we leave now, we can catch up to them with ease."

The pain that shot through my heart had both the little ones cringing and crying out softly, whimpering and pulling even closer to the human-formed 'Con. I closed my eyes at his almost irritated sigh, trying to will away the pain.

"If you care about him so much, maybe you should go do something about it. It's obvious she manipulated the Prime's naivety and endless kindness."

"I chose this."

"Because she was hurting you."

"She's here. I dunno what she is, but she's here. I can't just ask her to give up her life now."

"She's not alive, and it's _your_ life, not hers." It seemed, the more I argued, the louder and more intense Barricade's voice got as he got angrier. His fingers twitched over the tiny shaking forms lying on his chest, but he sighed, stroking Sunfire's antennai and Moonracer's back. "You know, it's not just you that's hurting. Prowler's not happy about bein' away from the boss. Rana misses everyone. Obviously _you_ miss everyone, and if that's not enough to make you rethink this, look at your own sparklings."

I did so, feelings tears rolling down my cheeks as they writhed with echoes of my pain, as much as I fought it. "I can't help how I feel."

There was another sigh, this time it was softer. "None of us can."

Shaking my head, I abruptly got up. "I can't go back." I held up my hand when his eyes darkened once again. "Think about it, 'Cade-"

"Don't call me that."

In any other situation, I might have found that hilarious. I'd found a hated name for both Sunstreaker _and_ Barricade, both of which were almost eerily mirror images of each other, again with Barricade being darker. As it was, I shook my head again. "If I go back, what's to stop me from being in pain when he choses her over me anyways? She's the only one doing any good right now. I meant what I said. I... I need to practice with my powers."

"Then get going." His dark eyes were locked on me. "The sooner you master your abilities, the sooner we can get back to the others."

Turning my back on him and the sparklings, I sighed as I made my way back to the house to get my practice bow and quiver. _The only problem still remains... I might not have the courage to go back._

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	29. Twin Song

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

_**'Do you have a lock?'**_

_**'Affiramive. I've located the Autobots and... Holy slag! Is that Blackout? Pit! Scramble energy signatures and take cover!'**_ The muffled curses echoed over the link before it abruptly went silent. The two jets quickly ducked in different directions, masking their energy signatures and taking cover behind large buildings, their scans still running over the entourage that was...making it's way _back_ to the border?

_**'I thought they already got all the shards up there.'**_

_**'Report this back to Lord Starscream. I'll take the rest of the troops and follow them. We'll ambush them when they least expect it.'**_

One of the jets veered off course. _**'Understood.'**_ It hovered in the air a moment as a hum seemed to echo from it's body. The hum got louder and louder, and then seemed to pop. A wave of _something_ came from the jet, it's form swaying back and forth, and then distorting. Then, it disappeared without a trace.

**(Kendra's POV)**

Sighing again, I focused on a mental image of a peaceful sandy beach, with warm air, blue skies, and blue-green ocean gently lapping at the shore. Behind me were palm trees and dense jungle, birds singing slightly.

Then I paused.

_That doesn't sound like any bird song I've ever heard._

The almost sudden sound of metal grinding on metal, and the feel of fluttering fabric at my side knocked me completely out of my meditation, and I opened my eyes, still hearing the almost eerie sound of humming. It was quiet and high pitched, like female voices, and when I traced the sound back to it's origin, I felt my jaw drop.

All three mechs were in their robotic forms during the day, for the first time since we'd come back. Their eyes were all trained on the same spot of ankle high grass, and my eyes followed their almost awed expressions. Well, other than Soudwave, but he rarely if ever showed emotions, so...

My eyes filled with tears and my heart swelled and pulsed rapidly at what I saw.

Sitting in the grass, leaning on each other, were Sunfire and Moonfrost. They were swaying back and forth slightly, humming to themselves, their eyes closed. The tune was like nothing I'd ever heard before, haunting and sweet in their tiny voices.

Feeling more movement at my side, I reluctantly turned my eyes from my little ones to see Rana with the digital camera, a huge smile on her face, and even Star, sitting in her lap, looking like the tune was soothing her.

"It's a twin song." Prowl's voice startled me, and I bit my tongue to keep my squeal silent. The little ones seemed to jerk with my surprise, but their tune only hitched slightly, before returning full force. As I turned, I watched his holoform sit next to me, his eyes sparkling. "On Cybertron, most twins born had a special song all their own. Because of their close bonds, they are able to communicate to each other since before they are even born." He nodded slightly. "The tune is normally something they sing over their private internal communications link, so to hear it out loud is a blessing." The corners of his lips seemed to twitch. "That means they trust us more than you can imagine, and feel safe and comfortable with us."

"Do Sunstreaker and Sideswipe have one?"

He nodded. "Yes, though they've never let anyone hear it."

Soundwave's head tilted to one side a little, as he watched the twins, and Barricade knelt down to listen.

Since coming here, the pain had gotten so bad, I was almost numb to a lot by now. Rana had already made a complaint of my lack of smiles and laughter, but it wasn't something I could consciously control. If I pulled myself out of my hazy life, the pain would make my little ones cry. But...even in this state, I couldn't help the small, true smile that crossed my face, listening to my little ones hum.

"Beautiful." I murmured, their singing doing far more to calm me than even my meditation. Closing my eyes, I listened to them, even as I reached deep within myself. I quickly found the much smaller than normal pool of energy and reached for it, drawing tendrils. _Ok, that works, thank God._ The voices got quiet and disappeared all together, but I kept looking, feeling no distress from my little ones.

_How exactly to do get my ability to sense auras back?_ I could feel and find my energy, which helped me to manipulate it, but what good was that if I couldn't see auras, and didn't know who to fight? I strained a little, before opened my eyes. I blinked, trying to bring on the auras. I delved into the pool of energy, bringing it up and surrounding myself in it, but that didn't help.

Shaking my head, I let the energy go as soon as I began to get a headache. When I did so, I blinked and smiled, watching as Soundwave crouched next to my little ones, who were attempting to stand.

"It must be unusual for you to see Decepticons showing loyalty and kindness." I murmured, knowing they'd all hear me, but Prowl would realize it was _him_ I was talking to.

He nodded silently, his eyes and optics fixed on the scene before him. "Truly, it is, but in all honesty? I am...happy that Optimus was right. Once we finish gathering the shards, perhaps peace _will_ be within reach."

I felt Rana stiffen up, and knew her mind had crossed the same path as mine. "Once the shards are recovered and the wish made, you mean." I corrected quietly, tilting my face down just enough for my hair to fall and make a curtain between the lone Autobot and myself. _All the more reason to make the wish. Peace will be theirs and the sparklings will never have been torn from their mother._

_But you _are_ their mother now._

_I...don't know anything about this._

_Do they look like they're complaining?_

The internal struggle caused me to look up and I watched as Soundwave swiftly but silently caught Moonracer as she toppled over sideways, righting her gently and then pulling back to allow her to walk on her own.

_Their first steps._

As I warred with the love and pride I felt, the shame and insecurity rising along with them, I watched the little ones shakily walking in my direction. Can_ I really be apart from them? Even if I don't know about them, I really don't think I could just go on living like I was before._

Was this what everyone else thought? Why the idea of bringing back Cybertron seemed to bother them all? I supposed I could understand it. I kept trying to imagine my life as normal, human, but it just wasn't happening.

Little coos caught my attention, and I looked up to see Sunfire standing in front of me, a big smile on her face and her antennai perked right up. Behind her, Moonracer was still shakily catching, up, her face scrunched up in concentration as she placed one shaky foot in front of the other.

With a still small smile, I accepted the little ones against me and hugged them tightly, sighing as I stroked their backs.

_I don't know if I can do it. If I have the chance to make the wish, what if it's not what they really want?_

**(Normal POV)**

_I don't belong here?_

_I...already knew that, but what brought this up?_

Looking back via her sensors, Sun Dancer flew just ahead of the entourage, having been more or less kicked out of the group itself. Not that she was banned, but the majority of the bots made their decisions quite clear, and even though she'd hoped Optimus Prime would back her, he sided with them.

_My counterpart's really managed to find her way into his spark._

For once, a trickle of something akin to sympathy and compassion trickled through her body. It burned a lot worse than anything she'd ever felt in a long time, and she focused her attention to the front again. _I didn't ask to be brought back. I didn't ask for this._ The guilt made it's presence known, slowly trickling into her awareness behind everything else. _But I know it's not my time anymore._

As she flew ahead of the others, something blipped on her radar and she nearly froze. _Not an Autobot, or it wouldn't have just disappeared again._ That only left one real option and in her sudden torrent of unstable emotions, she felt herself pull away from the thought of warning the others they were being followed.

_They didn't do anything._

_Anything but turn their back on us._

The aura around her shifted slightly, catching her attention. She was all too aware her aura had darkened, and she could feel the cold seeping up on her as her own energy began to run low. _If I don't get the rest of her energy soon, I'll go back._ But...back to what? That's the one thing she didn't know. The answer that didn't come with her when she was dragged from the matrix.

About the only upside to all this was that Optimus Prime had insisted she give him her shards.

**Flashback**

_"We have not entirely decided what to do, just yet."_

_"That's a load of slag if I ever heard it."_ Sunstreaker snarled quietly.

_"Uh-huh. I agree."_ Blackout shot the Autobot a look that told him just because he agreed, didn't mean he liked it. _"I'm sure the answer's easier than you're making it."_

Shooting both of them a dark glare, Optimus turned back to the femme in front of him and sighed. _"Unfortunately, I'm afraid I agree with them. This? All of this. It's wrong. Kendra Morgan was the one born into this. She is the priestess _meant_ to live in this time, and _meant_ to be on this mission."_ He sighed again, shaking his head. _**'**__I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to turn over your shards."_ He held out his hand patiently.

**End Flashback**

She didn't want to concede, but knew he was right. Still, she wasn't quite ready to give up just yet. Turning off her radar, she kept up her pace, her own mind running over what she would say and do when they all returned to the earthy residence that the earth-born femme lived in. Would she finally once again lose her life, or would she act out on her own, stealing it back?

* * *

**Note** :I don't know where the concept of a 'twin song' came from. I don't think I've ever heard it used before, but if it was... Uh, sorry? And if no one has... I own it! XD

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	30. Reminiscing

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

* * *

**(Two Days Later, Kendra's POV)**

It really was...harder than I thought it would be.

Since coming home, I found myself feeling emptier and emptier. The pain was slowly fading, but this big burning hole in my heart refused to disappear. In fact, it was often like it was growing, and I'd find myself wrapping my arms around myself, as if that could protect me in some way, keep me from falling apart.

The twins had grown used to my pain, and I'm not sure what it was exactly I'd said or done, but though it still hurt them, it wasn't nearly as bad. They played with Rana while I practiced my archery. Chased Star around, or was carried by Star, in her mouth. They'd cuddle up next to Prowl or Barricade, much to the latter's confusion and discomfort. But they never sang again since that day.

Part of me wondered if we'd ever hear it again.

As I brushed off the counter in the kitchen I sighed and leaned down on my arms. _I wonder what the others are up to?_ My mind danced over Bumblebee, wondering if he was really ok with Sun Dancer there. Or Optimus, if he bonded to her the way he seemed to bond with me. _I kinda miss our sparring sessions._

Leaning my chin in my palm, I closed my eyes, reminiscing.

**Flashback**

He crouched low, his large frame barely making a sound. One blade subspaced into his hand, and his eyes locked on mine grimly. Then he rushed forward, moving far faster than I'd expected.

Rolling to the side, I brought up one of my propellers, which Ironhide had shown me were weapons. It was still foreign to be working with anything _other_ than a bow and arrows,let alone pulling things off my back to fight with, and it showed. Even as I raised one of the staffs, he knocked it out of my hand, and I had to duck to avoid his reaching free hand.

_Hey! Where are you reaching?!_ I thought, my eyes widening as I yelped and jumped away from his hand, which had touched something sensitive in my side, causing heat and electricity to roll through me. "Hey!"

He seemed to pause and blink a moment as I held a hand over the offended spot, almost absently. As something seemed to click in his mind, he blinked again and his eyes widened. "I apologize!" The force with which the words spewed from his mouth almost had be stepping back again.

"Relax, it's not like you were groping me or anything." I paused this time, realizing I knew next to nothing about Autobot anatomy. "Were you?" Tilting my head to the side, I twisted a little, trying to get a better look at where his fingers had dug in.

"No!" The shout caused me to jump, and as I looked up, I watched as Optimus seemed...surprisingly...flustered? "I mean, I was simply trying to restrain you, wrap an arm around your waist. I never meant to... I mean.. I apologize." He ducked his head a little."

**End Flashback**

Two days later and I got a basic anatomy lesson after I apparently did much the same thing to Optimus, causing _him_ to yelp. I'm probably scarred for life now, but I couldn't help the curiosity when he jumped, the same way I had. It was only fingers in his side.

Then I found out about the sensitive wires. I wondered if my cooling fans would ever stop coming on the moment I looked at Optimus. And worse, I could hear his whirring, too. Ever since then, I always tried to keep a mind out of the really sensitive wires when sparring. But that didn't stop me from getting distracted, or apparently distracting him.

**Flashback**

I straightened up, widening my stance a little, before leaning to one side, pressing all my weight on one leg. I dug that propeller into the ground by my feet, leaning on it as well, as I watched Optimus stand up.

He was slower, climbing to his feet from his position on the ground, his eyes seemed glued to me, almost raking over my form, and seemingly oblivious to the way the muscles in his arm strained as he pushed all his weight on it, boosting himself up. My eyes glued to the cables and thick rubber padding as they bulged out with the movement, much like _muscles_ would.

Biting my tongue, my eyes lowered to his long, lean legs as he stood, shifting his stance a little as he brushed branches and twigs from between his armored plates. Cables there also strained, especially when a large, dead log got wedged in between them, and he leaned over sideways to remove them.

_If he were human, I wouldn't be surprised if he was solidly built._ My mind drifted over to his holographic form. _More so than even _that_ version of him. _I wasn't too into heavily muscled guys, but something about Optimus made it suit him. _Oh shit!_ I shifted a little, digging the other propeller into the ground and leaning on that one, and watched as his eyes followed the movement of my body. _I can't be..._

**End Flashback**

_The first day I'd realized I saw him as more than a friend and Autobot leader._ I sighed and shook my head, dispelling the thoughts as I straightened up. _But what does it matter? I might never even see him again? And it's not like we'd ever... I mean, well..._ I blinked rapidly shaking images and thoughts from my mind as I reached into the sink and refreshed my cloth, before finishing wiping down the counters. _It doesn't matter._

"Kendra! Ken!!"

I spun to the door as Rana threw it open, dashing in and breathing heavily, a huge smile on her face an Star and Ravage both trailing behind her. For a split moment, I watched the two Cybertronian animals, and wondered if we should be on the lookout for sparklings of _theirs_ before long. Then I pushed the thought aside and turned to Rana. "Where's the fire?"

"Soundwave got a message!" She giggled before taking off back outside.

I froze a moment, my mind running over the countless possibilities of what this message could be. Before I knew it, I was wiping off my hand on a towel hanging just under the sink, and following the two Cybertronian dogs...err cats...err _whatever_ outside. Once there, I moved a safe distance away and transformed, taking my sparklings from Prowl, who was watching over them.

"So? What is it?"

"Autobots have had a change of heart." Soundwave's red visor stared down at us all. "They are returning for Priestess Kendra Morgan. Estimated time of arrival, two earth hours."

"That's great! They smartened up!" Rana cheered happily from Prowl's free palm.

"Unfortunately, my sensors indicate multiple Decepticons heading this way, estimated time of arrival, fifteen earth minutes."

I felt my heart freeze, when I suddenly realized our problem. "We can't let them get Rana or the sparklings!"

He nodded, his expression never once changing. "Ravage and the casseticons will take them to safety while we hold them back."

"How _many_ Decepticons are incoming?" Barricade had a claw to his chin, and Prowl brought Rana closer to his body, until his hand cupped her between his fist and chest plates.

"Energy signatures are too intermingled to be certain, but I believe at least five."

"So we're outnumbered." I nodded a little, before tilting my head a little. "So now what?"

"Ravage." Soundwave opened a hold in his body and several rather tiny creatures crawled out, including Ravage. He gave them a hand to the ground, literally, and then watched as Prowl sat Rana down with them, and I hesitated a moment, before giving her my sparklings and allspark shards. "Take them to the basement of the residence behind us. My scans indicate the walls are lined with metal and cannot penetrate."

"Reinforced?" I snapped my fingers as I recalled something. "Yeah! The previous owners of the house were paranoid about tornadoes and stuff, so they turned the basement into a bunker!"

"I don't wanna leave!"

We all looked down to Rana, and I slowly knelt down. "We don't have a choise. _Someone_ needs to protect the sparklings, and I can't hide. They'll know something's up. Undoubtedly, they've already picked up our energy signatures?" I looked up to Soundwave, cocking my head in a questioning fashion.

He nodded. "They would have picked up Cybertronian signatures by now. Ours, because ours reach the longest." He nodded down to them. "You will be safe."

"Optimus and the others are coming, ok? You just need to keep the sparklings safe until then." I forced a smile, my heart doing energetic flip flops in my stomach as she groaned, nodded and left. Standing once again, I sighed and turned to the others. "Here we go again. Tell me..." I glanced to Barricade. "Anymore 'pretending to be on the enemy's side' I should keep an eye out? I have a feeling Soundwave's gonna hold that shooting over your head for a while."

**CLANK!**

"OW! No slag! I can see that." Barricade grumbled as he rubbed at his head. "No, this time there's no pretending. Not like they'd fall for it again, anyways. This time we gotta fight."

I nodded, my propellers straightening. Pulling one off my back, I quickly formed a bow with it. _I got a little practice in, but seeing auras is still beyond me. I guess I just aim for the guys trying to kill me._ I thought as I drew back the string, the arrow forming with only a little more difficulty than I was used to.

Soundwave informed us of the direction they were coming from, and we all turned, arming various weapons, keeping sensors alert, and waiting to bring the rain.

**(Normal POV)**

_**'We're almost upon them.'**_

_**'Disable but do not offline the priestess. We have plans for her.'**_

_**'Understood. The others won't simply let us take her.'**_

_**'Disable them as well. Do not offline, Lord Starscream has special plans for the Autoscum and traitors.'**_

Dark cackling was heard over the internal communications, and one bot sat in a darkened underground room barely big enough for him. He glanced over to the unoccupied medical berth, where the three scientists and Scalpel stood preparing and waiting for the new arrival.

Within his hand, he toyed with a small microchip.

_Soon enough she will be ours._

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**Note** : The most recent scene I'm working on is inspired by the first Inuyasha movie. That's all I'm going to say, because I don't wanna give it away.^^

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	31. Captured Again

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

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**(Kendra's POV)**

As the enemy grew closer, we all grew tenser. I kept my sensors pinned on the house behind me, knowing no matter what, the basement had to remain intact. I tensed when the first jets flew below the cloud line, holding one propeller in front of me, diagonally across my body, and the other in the opposite position behind me. _Come on..._

I could feel the tension in the air as the jets flew our way, transforming in the air. Suddenly, I was flying, rolling across the ground and vacating the area I'd just been standing, as the ground exploded into tiny particles of dust. I shot upward, digging one propeller into the ground and swiftly transforming the other back into a bow. _We expected air attacks. Why'd I change it back?_

Taking aim, I shot quickly, not bothering with my energy as I ducked another blast. "Soundwave, behind you!" I aimed and shot at Sideways as he seemed to erupt from the treeline, attempting to tackle the Decepticon communications officer from behind. As I hit him, I yelped, finding myself tackled by a red blur and growling warningly at Dead End, as he grappled with me for my weapon.

"Get the slag off me!" I felt my eye twitch as I snarled, my heart thrumming angrily in my chest. _You know you've been hanging out with Cybertronians too long when..._ "I swear to God, if you don't get your fat aft off me-"

"Hey!" He snarled back, digging his elbow painfully into a point in my chest. "My aft ain't fat!"

"Wanna bet?" Thinking quickly, I lashed out with my foot, kicking him right between the legs as hard as I could. I didn't think it'd do anything, apparently part of Ratchet's anatomy lesson was informing me Autobots _didn't_ have _those_ parts, but when he recoiled and shouted, I took my chance, letting go of my propeller with one hand and shoving it in his side, grasping a handful of cables and twisting with all my strength. _Thank you Optimus and Ratchet._

As he screamed, I shoved as hard as I could, pushing him off me and scrabbling away. No sooner had I separated him from me, however, and there was a blast, his optics going dark as a large smoking hole just seemed to appear out of nowhere on his chest.

Scrambling to my feet, I looked around and raised an eyebrow as Soundwave stared back at me. "Thanks."

"Watch your own back, priestess." He warned, before turning back to the battle at hand.

I let the other eyebrow glide up and huffed. "Gee, you're welcome." Sarcasm rolled off me easily as I grabbed the still standing propeller, running at Sideways, who'd managed to knock Prowl down. "Don't you dare get offlined!" I shouted at the fallen cruiser, as I swung my blade at Sideways, sparks flying from his back. "You still have charges to protect!"

Before he could even answer me, however, there was a sharp pain in the back of my neck, and everything went black.

**(Normal POV)**

As Prowl looked up from Sideways' distracted form at his feet, he felt his spark nearly stop. Right behind Kendra stood Starscream, only he was far larger than anyone had ever seen. His optics were the deepest pitch black, somehow glowing an eerie dark blue, and his armor had taken on a bloody tone, whether from real blood or not, he had no idea.

Before the Autobot even had a chance to react, as Kendra collapsed, her optics darkening and shuttering, Starscream was scooping her up into his arms, cackling melodramatically as he lifted into the air with ease.

"Priestess!" The shout from Soundwave, almost startled him, showing more emotion in moments than he'd seen in weeks of travelling with the Decepticon. A well placed red blast would probably have hit him, except it seemed to bounce off a dark violet shield instead.

"No!" Staggering to his feet, he too, began aiming for Starscream, only to jump to the side when Sideways came at him. "Get out of my way, you waste of energon!" He shouted, his normally controlled mask slipping. _We can't let him have her!_She'd survived last time, but barely. They already had the priestess of old now, so he could see no real reason the Decepticons would want her alive.

Even as they fought, they were more than aware as Starscream slowly pulled back, almost taunting them as he headed to the clouds with the unconscious priestess. Before long he was out of sight, and they were once again forced to focus on the battle at hand.

"How the _slag_is it that femme _always_gets captured by the enemy?!" Barricade shouted angrily, before he body slammed into Skywarp, twisting behind the flyer and gripping painfully tightly at the sensitive wings.

_"Come after her if you dare."_Thundercracker hopped into the air, and sent them a set of coordinates. A vicious smirk crossed his features as he did so, too. _"And don't forget to bring your precious Prime with you."_ With a last laugh, he turned, fleeing.

Skywarp slammed his elbow into Barricade's stomach, causing the black and white mech to release him. As he staggered away, he sneered, using his power to teleport out of the battle sight.

"Cowards! We can take them out!" Sideways snarled angrily, before barely managing to duck a black. "Pit-blasted orders!" He turned and ran for the treeline, turning into his alternate form and zigzagging through the trees to avoid fire.

"Slaggit!"

Barricade scrambled up from where he'd been knocked on his back, glaring and clenching his claws as he glared into the distance. Snarling lowly, his eyes flashed, before he turned his back on the fleeing coward and towards the others.

Prowl was already on his way to the house, which had been pretty damaged, but still somehow stood. He crouched down, activating his holoform, deactivating pain receptors and then hurrying into the mess, clearing a path to the door so he could get to his charge.

_"It's a trap, obviously."_

_"We need to go. This is the priestess we speak of. If we don't, and something happens to her, the world is doomed."_

The thing Barricade hated most was that Soundwave was right.

"Where's Kendra?"

They turned to the humans, before Soundwave turned to the mass of energy signatures indicating the arrival of the other Autobots. He allowed Prowl to look after the smaller charges, hailing Prime over his private internal link and stalking off towards them as he gave them the news.

**(Normal POV)**

Looking down at the silver-white femme before them, the Decepticons shared smirks. Sideways had his optics all over her body, but grit his dentals when he remembered he was ordered not to touch her. _Good for nothing femme. _His optics trailed over her almost still chest plates, rising and falling slowly with her unconscious breaths.

"Place the chip on her."

The room was dark, the Decepticons forming a tight circle around the femme. They'd managed to snatch up her propellers, which rested against the far wall. Silently, they all watched as one of the scientists reached forward, placing the tiny microchip dead center in the seam of her chest plating.

...Only to have it fall back out again, and a flash of blue snap through the room, causing all the mechs to startle and lean away from her.

"My Lord, her energies are too strong."

"Nonsense. She only has half of her power, and she doesn't even have the shards on her." Which had initially enraged him when he realized he captured her. Again. And she didn't have the shards. Getting up from his makeshift throne, Starscream started forward, glowering down at the femme as the scientist bent down and picked up the chip. "Give me that!" He snatched the chip from the scientist and reached out, dropping it into place.

...And snarling as with a blue flash, it went flying again.

"Want to play it that way, hmm?" He felt the power of his newest shards, and turned to scalpel, who stood with a shard of his own, examining it. Lashing out with his power, he sent the little crab-like doctor flying and took the shard, pressing it against the chip until the chip glowed brightly and the two seemed to fuse together. Watching the chip glow darkly, he smirked and reached out again, once again placing it in place.

This time it glowed and black energy danced along the seam of her chest plates. Slowly, the chip sank into place, almost vanishing completely from view. With a low laugh, he turned and left the room. _**'Make it look like we're abandoning base. We **_**want**_**the Autobots to get her back.'**_ He held up a small remote, and cackled. _Mission accomplished._He continued on his way, leaving the others behind him and not really caring if they listened or not, as long as the femme remained untouched.

He ordered Skywarp to remain nearby to make sure she wasn't harmed, even as he entered into the dim light of the day, transformed, and took off.

Left alone in the room, many of the Decepticons exchanged looks, some shrugging helplessly before turning and leaving. Others were more reluctant, staring down at the femme curiously and wondering what about her was so powerful, that she'd been captured. Twice.

Before long, all but Sideways had left, and he sneered down at her still form. Leaning forward, he held his hand out over her chest plate. The only thing that kept him from touching her was the chip. If the armored plates opened, the chip risked being dislodged, either falling out to lie uselessly on the ground, or falling into her inner workings and being crushed.

And he knew how angry Starscream would get if _that_ happened.

With a growl, he reached further up her body, tilting her head to one side and reattaching the cables, before leaning back. He scanned her body once more, thinking of what could have been, as he turned and left the room.

* * *

**Shard Tally** :

Good Guys = 13

Bad Guys = 7

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	32. Control

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : Again I wanna apologize I never did finish this story. And again I want to post that if anyone thinks they can, or they want to give it a shot, please let me know. I'd love to see it done, as in finished. Complete. Finito. XD lol

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**(Normal POV)**

_"Calm, little ones..."_

Optimus sighed heavily, feeling tiny hands and bodies pressing against his armor, as if it comforted him. He felt the need to bond with them, and only barely kept from doing so, worried his own emotions might only hurt them more. Instead, he cupped them to his chest with one hand, stroking their back and audio processors with his index finger on his free hand.

_**'Bumblebee, any news?'**_

_**'Scans indicate we're near. I'm not picking up individual signatures, but there is a massive, unidentified energy signature seven miles ahead.'**_ The little yellow scout zoomed back and transformed at the larger bot's feet. He stared up at the silver armor-covered knuckles of his leader, and his optics burned brightly as he reached up, running his own fingers over the sparklings' backs. _**'We'll get her back...?'**_

_**'Yes.'**_ There was no hesitation or doubt in his instantanious answer. His optics cut over to the elder priestess, and he noticed her gaze was darker than he had seen before. Staring at her a moment, he turned back to Bumblebee, opening a private communications link to his other officers as he gently opened his chest, placing the sparklings inside.

**(Kendra's POV)**

Extreme pain was what woke me up. I felt something warm brush past my cheek as memories came flying past, and a discomfort in my chest. Conclusions ran through me as my eyes shot open. It was dark and dank around me, but my eyes adjusted quickly. The walls seemed to be made of dirt this time, rather than rock, but before I could really take it in, I noticed a movement.

A familiar back was racing out the door, and I felt my ire raise quickly. Eyes darting around, I found my propellers and felt an eyebrow hitch as I moved quickly.

Standing, I groaned and paused, rethinking letting him run when the world around me spun dangerously. _Just what the hell did that monster do to me?!_ Once the world righted again, I grabbed my propellers and stuck one of them to my back. Nothing really did seem to sink in about my possible situation or what I could have run into as I ran out of the room. _He did _something_, and I'm gonna find out._

With a low growl, I tore out of the room, slowing when the hall stretched darkly beyond me. "Geez, too much of this and I might just develop a fear of the dark." With a roll of my eyes, I bent the elbows of the propeller I still held, turning it into a bow, and held it ready as I stalked quickly down the hall. _Am I at another base?_ I wanted to laugh at the ironic nature of this._ Twice. Twice now I've been captured._

The ground suddenly shook violently and explosions rocked the area around me.

"Really?!" I shouted angrily, my eyes wide. "What is this?!" Shaking my head, I grumbled to myself about help always showing up at the last possible moment as I turned a corner, aiming my bow and knocking an energy arrow. Nothing was there, but a red blast shot across my sight at the end of the hall, at a T point. Heading down to it, I peeked around the corner and felt my eyes widen as a smirk crossed my face. _Gotcha dumbaft._

Yeah, it was safe to say I hung out with the Autobots a little too much.

Seeing the familiar silver and black figure fighting a set of silver and yellow bots with blue eyes, I growled again, ducking around the corner. I raised my bow, catching Sunstreaker's eye and nodding as he grabbed his brother, ducking down as I shot the arrow. Sideways yelled as the arrow hit him in the back, and Sunstreaker quickly got off his brother, grabbing of of the blades he'd previously dropped and impaling the Decepticon on it.

"Good to see you're alright." Sides smiled a little. "Though we're gonna have to do something about the danger magnet attached to your chassis."

I rolled my eyes his way. "If we can figure out _what_ about me is attracting the danger, I'll be more than happy to do something about it. Until then, shut up and lets go find the others." I darted past him and his brother.

"Hey!"

I ignored the shout as I turned down another hall.

"Do you even _know_ where you're going?!"

That stopped me cold and I turned, glaring at Sunstreaker's smug face. "Lose the look or I'll make you lose it." I drew back the bowstring and raised an eyebrow. "I won't aim to hurt you, obviously, but I'd really _hate_ to harm that pretty paint job." Cocking my head to the side, I felt my own lips twitch when his look soured and he glanced away. "Ahh, much better." _Oh it's fun messing with him!_

Sideswipe, of course, was doing his very best to hold back his laughter, as he led the way down countless seemingly random hallways. We didn't find anyone until we turned what felt like the tenth corner. _That's_ about when the real action started.

Feeling something pushing me, I yelped as my body slammed into the wall painfully, something warm and hard pressing against me. Any other situation, and the sensation _might_ have felt almost nice, but as it was, I growled warningly when those hands happened to stray a little too close to the sensitive wires in my side. "Watch it." I slowly turned, glaring when I saw it was Sides leaning against me.

He waggled his eyebrows before turning and rushing into the battle with a yell.

I couldn't help but smirk as I followed suit, pulling back on the bow string and hitting one of the large tanks with a blast, knocking it away from a familiar blue and white cruiser, who was...surprise, surprise...battling along side a black and white cruiser.

"Kendra!"

The deep baritone voice startled me and caused me to pause a moment, as I almost automatically began looking around. It felt like it had been forever since I'd last heard that voice, and it was disconcerting how hard my heart pulsed when I finally laid eyes on the familiar tall, blue and red form. _Optimus..._ The happiness that soared through me only sinched just how futile it was that I fought my attraction to him this long.

Hearing movement behind me, I glanced over my shoulder and ducked just as Ironhide tossed a jet over my head. "Hey! Watch your aim!" I shouted, spinning. I drew another energy arrow and let fly at another monster, grumbling when a different glowing arrow hit him first, knocking him over. _Oh, right. I actually forgot about her._ I thought darkly, as I spun again, lashing out with my bow and whacking an incoming mutated..._thing._

Working my way over to Optimus, I couldn't help the smile that formed as I looked at him, battling so gracefully and valiantly. His form moved in startlingly flexible moves. The way his muscles flexed, and the look of grim determination on his face...

_Ok, _so_ not the time to be mooning!_

Turning, I shot another arrow at the jet Ironhide had thrown as it got up to fight him, knocking it down.

Jazz was tackling another tank, with Ratchet and Jolt covering his ass, even as Sunstreaker and Sideswipe took on Thundercracker. Two scientists were engaged with Prowl and Barricade, and Soundwave was looking over what had to be the largest bot I'd ever seen.

Strangely, he almost looked like he was made up of several bots, each foot a different color, and instead of having the usual red or blue eyes, he had about eight smaller, green eyes. Blackout raced to his side to help, even as the Arcee triplets zoomed in from behind the massive creature.

Seeing Sideways slip into the room, his chest dripping energon, before he slipped out a side entrance, I frowned. _I don't think so. I did _not _go through all that trouble to let you get away so easily._ I snarled to myself, stalking after him. I heard Optimus call my name, but kept after hte Decepticon, drawing back the bowstring as I ran. I lifted the bow, aiming at his back, and let fly.

Once again I snarled, as another arrow seemed to fly over my shoulder just as I released my own, striking him seconds before mine. Turning as he fell, I stared at the priestess, who stood just behind Optimus, having followed me. I glared at her a long moment, debating on shooting her myself, when...

A strange hum filled my ears, and my head began to spin.

**(Elsewhere, Normal POV)**

Watching the video feed over his internal processors, Starscream smirked and hit the switch, watching as the femme froze immediatly. His smirk grew when the screen seemed to zoom in on the other figures in the hall, realizing it was the hated Prime, and his failed experiment, Sun Dancer. _Very good. Very good indeed._ He sat back, his processor working overtime as he watched the younger priestess straighten slowly with his guidance. _Oh yes, this is going to be fun indeed._

**(Kendra's POV)**

I felt my body straighten, even as the reverberating hum echoed through my ears, causing my head to ring. My vision cleared, but seemed almost slightly tunnelled. I tried to blink, to see if that was help, but instead felt a foreign sense of panic run through me when my eyes didn't respond.

_What? What's going on?!_

"Kendra, are you alright?" Optimus took a step forward.

_No! Stay back! Something's wrong!_

I tried to scream the words as my body slowly turned, but my mouth refused to move. Struggling, I attempted to stop the way my body almost seemed to move automatically, against my will.

_What's wrong with me?! Why can't I stop?! Someone, please..._ My body moved again, even as I screamed internally for it to stop, straining myself more and more. I realized almost instantly, my body was stalking towards Optimus, and I felt my power rising. _My power won't hurt him, right? Because he's a good guy?_ My head screamed in agony, and my chest felt tight.

Optimus took another step forward, his eyes narrowing slightly. A small smile tugged at his lips, and I felt my heart spin faster, even as he raised his hands, coaxing open his protective chest plates. "I've kept them safe, but they need their femme creator." His smile grew and he sighed heavily, even as the little femmes wiggled a little when he opened the protective cover over the chamber that housed them.

Once they were bared, they started fussing, whining and pressing tighter against him. I knew they were reacting to my terror, and I struggled to push more through our bond, hoping he'd realize something was wrong.

He frowned and looked down, his gaze turning confused. "I don't...understand." One of his hands slipped in to brush gently over one of the sparklings as he took his eyes off me.

_Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Optimus, get out of here!_

My eyes burned, but the tears seemed to refuse to fall, even as he looked back up. Slowly, I raised the bow I still held, my free hand visibly shaking as I struggled to fight whatever was controlling me. In fact, I felt my whole body shaking, even as one foot slid forward, my body bracing itself.

Sun Dancer didn't even move. There was an unfathomable expression on her face, as she stood behind Optimus, but she didn't make a sound or move a muscle.

Optimus' eyes widened, and he took half a step back. "K...Kendra?" His head cocked to the side a little, and I watched his fingers tighten over the armored flaps. He instantly released his hold on the cover to the chamber, letting it slide back into place. "I'm not corrupted." He opened another chamber, and showed me the shards sitting harmlessly inside. "See?"

My arm wavered even more. _NO! RUN!!_ I could feel whatever tiny bit of control I had, that was slowing down my movements, slipping away as I strained myself. _Get out of here! HURRY! RUN!!_

When he saw that I wasn't lowering my bow, he slowly let his armored chest plates close, slouching ever so slightly as he braced himself. "Kendra..." He glanced over his shoulder slightly. His eyes narrowed slightly when the other priestess stepped forward, but still didn't raise her hands or make any move to the threat. "What's going on?"

_You'd think that's painfully fricken obvious._ I thought darkly, the straing making my migraine worse, even as my shaking hand grabbed hold of the bowstring, grabbing at it three times before my fingers actually clung to it. Slowly, my trembling body, still acting very much _against_ my wishes, began to draw the bowstring back. The energy poured into the arrow as it formed, fading in and out of view for a long moment as I fought it.

"You're under someone's control, aren't you?" His voice was low, and he slowly lowered his raised hands as he once again took a step forward. "Come on, Kendra. You can fight it."

_WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M TRYING TO DO HERE?!?_

A loud explosion shook the room, causing a camera in the far corner to fall and smash on the ground.

It was like the whistling hum faded, and the arrow dissipated as my bow lowered slightly.

Optimus' eyes brightened immediately. "Kendra, fight!" He began to look around wildly. "Tell me what's going on!!"

**(Elsewhere, Normal POV)**

Starscream snarled as his systems locked on the way the image trembled violently, losing focus on the figures within. Then the image shifted sharply, and disappeared totally, ripping his focus from controlling the femme. With a low growl, he closed his eyes and began focusing again, smirking as he felt her fighting him. Chuckling quietly, he asserted his control _slowly_, allowing her a moment to speak.

**(Kendra's POV)**

"Run!" The word was a harsh whisper, surprisingly high pitched. Then again, with the strain I was putting on my body, I guess it made sense. "Please! I...don't have...control...over my...body! Run!" I swallowed, but choked as my body only seemed to freeze more. "Before I-"

"No."

Optimus' voice caused my body to freeze in the act of once again raising the bow.

"I made the mistake of leaving without you once, and my spark wouldn't let me forget it. Not one hour passed that I didn't question if I'd made a mistake. I finally came back, only to find you'd been taken again." His eyes rang with such sincerity, I felt my own heart shatter, knowing I was all but helpless to stop what my body wanted, even with me fighting. "I won't leave without you. Not again."

My eyes remained on him, but out of my peripheral, I watched a newer expression cross the elder priestess' face, even as she moved forward a little, until she was standing next to him.

But my control over my vocal cords and lips fled me. The bow shook almost violently as I once again grasped the bowstring. I pulled back, the bow unsteady, until a brightly glowing arrow formed, pointing directly at Optimus' chest. _No..._ The bowstring was drawn further back. _No!!_ The bow steadied in my grasp, and before I knew it, I'd released the arrow.

_NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!_

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	33. Agony

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

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**(Normal POV)**

Starscream cackled with glee was he felt her struggling, heard her internal cries. While he didn't have a clear vision, he asserted more control over her body and took her own eyes, using them to see what was going on. Prime's speech very nearly made him physically ill, but his own glee that realizing his full control over the femme, he snickered again, leaning back in the small cave he'd stolen for a temporary hideout.

_So... You care for her, do you? Let's see..._

**(Kendra's POV)**

"I made the mistake of leaving without you once, and my spark wouldn't let me forget it. Not one hour passed that I didn't question if I'd made a mistake. I finally came back, only to find you'd been taken again." His eyes rang with such sincerity, I felt my own heart shatter, knowing I was all but helpless to stop what my body wanted, even with me fighting. "I won't leave without you. Not again."

My eyes remained on him, but out of my peripheral, I watched a newer expression cross the elder priestess' face, even as she moved forward a little, until she was standing next to him.

But my control over my vocal cords and lips fled me. The bow shook almost violently as I once again grasped the bowstring. I pulled back, the bow unsteady, until a brightly glowing arrow formed, pointing directly at Optimus' chest. _No..._ The bowstring was drawn further back. _No._ The bow steadied in my grasp, and before I knew it, I'd released the arrow.

_NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!_

The arrow glowed, the brightest spot in the room. It was as if everything was sudeenly moving in slow motion. As the arrow slipped free from my nerveless fingers, I felt something snap within me. Warmth flooded my body, and pushed away the foreign presence I felt.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!"

White hot heat almost seemed to erupt from my chest, and a glowing light shot forth, a small microchip slipping from between the chest plates and heading to the ground, even as my hand released the bow, and I distantly heard it clatter to the ground. The chip shattered into nothing as a brightly glowing shard hit the ground, and many things on the walls that I hadn't even noticed before, turned to dust as well. My feet moved unsteadily, even as I reached out, hot wet tears rolling down my suddenly cold cheeks, even though I realized it was to late.

_OPTIMUS, NOOO!_

Screams hit my ears then, and my panic grew tenfold when I realized the arrow wasn't aiming for just any point in his body. His arms came up quickly, but it felt _so_ slow to me. It was almost teasing, as though the world had slowed around me, and if I hurried, I could run forward and grasp the arrow, stopping it, and then race around like Super Woman, taking out all the Decepticons before they knew it.

But it was deceiving. I ignored the priestess next to him, as I raced forward, feeling like my feet were wading through sludge.

I watched as he jumped to the side, just as the arrow struck, and screamed as my heart seemed to stop.

The arrow pierced the armor on his chest, higher than it was aimed, as his legs were bent, and sank deep into his inner workings, damaging a lot before the energy dissolved. His eyes were wide, his expression far from explainable, even as the light seemed to flicker in his eyes, and he toppled over, before they went dark.

"Optimus!" I could swear my scream echoed even in my own ears. Reaching out as I lunged forward, I caught his body, being dragged over sideways from the sheer weight. "Optimus! Gently grabbing his head, I cradled it in my lap, leaning down as I patted his warm cheeks, my fingers feeling every divet and dent in the metal. I couldn't take my eyes from the darkness of his own. _What have I done?!?_ "Please! Wake up! Say something! _RATCHET!!!_"

I wondered if I was now like Sun Dancer. I felt so cold and...dead. I didn't feel the pulses of my heart, and barely even noticed my ragged breathing. The _only_ thing I felt was pain. I didn't even think it was possible to hurt this much.

"Please! Ratchet!! I'm sorry! I'm _so_ sorry! I tried to fight, I really did! Please!!" _Where the hell is that dumbass?!?! _"RATCHET!" I looked over my shoulder briefly, realizing we'd run into some isolated room.

"Look what you've done..." The voice was low, but that only made it worse. "You are so weak, what has he ever seen in you?"

The tears blurred my vision and I gasped for breath, barely noticing the way they dripped down on his face, even as I turned back to Optimus. "God, please! I'm sorry!" The screams echoed within me, slowly working their way up my chest, into my throat, and choking me worse. "I'm... I'm..." Somehow, even saying 'I'm sorry' countless times suddenly seemed senseless.

_Wait, I can heal, can't I?_

With a gasp, I reached out, stretching my full length, to press my hands over his chest.

"So weak." There was a 'tsk'. "It's not all your fault, though. Was this why I was brought back?"

I closed my eyes, struggling to focus. I could see and feel the strings leading down to him, but they were so weak. I followed them, and nearly pulled back when I saw the true extent of the damage. So many lines and ables were severed, and boards and chips were shattered. I immediately began to focus on healing him when the cries of my little ones caught my attention and I froze.

"The longer you wait, the weaker he'll get."

"You don't think I know that?!" I shouted angrily, turning to her even as I wondered where the others were and how it was they didn't know anything about this. "If you're not gonna help, do us all a favor and shut the hell up!" I spun back, reaching out to part his chest plates and grab my sparklings, when a hand caught mine, and I growled up at Sun Dancer.

Her eyes were fixed on him. "His spark is stable, but if you open the damaged plates, you'll make everything worse and put them all in danger. They're safe, only frightened." Slowly she turned to me. "There's a way to save him, but you'll need to boost the energy output with your own."

"How the hell do I do that?!"

"You silence yourself and let me work for a moment!" She closed her eyes, her hands glowing as she held them over the hole in his chest. It seemed like forever, but couldn't have been that long, before she moved her hands and got to work. "Ok, now place his head on the ground, I need you on his other side."

I eyed her, not certain what she was up to, or why she suddenly seemed far more alive than she had before.

When I hesitated, she groaned and turned to me, eyes narrowed. "Do you want to save him or not? Hurry! The energy output of his spark is weakening!"

_And it's all my fault._ Closing my eyes, I leaned down as I gently lifted his head from my lap, placing it down on the ground as I hastily shuffled to the side of his head. Staring down at his strangely peaceful face, I felt more tears dropping, even as I leaned down. _It's all my fault. I'm so weak, I'm so sorry!_ Hesitating only a moment, I pressed my lips to his.

"His spark is unstable. The femmes are suffering as well." The voice was almost testy.

Shifting up quickly, I moved down to the opposite side from her, and when she gently pushed his chest plates aside, the first thing she did was struggle with the protective cover for a long moment, before pausing.

"You do it." She seemed to look thoughtful.

Shakily, I reached out, trailing my fingers gently over the cover it was warm and almost smooth, but for the little indents of countless runes and alien writing. Pressing down slightly, I curved my fingers around the edges and tugged ever so slightly, blinking in surprise when the cover came aside with ease.

"Hm...He recognizes you, even in this state."

I didn't give it much thought, however, as I reached down and grabbed up my sparklings, admittedly desperately. Quickly, I placed them inside me, ignoring the way they struggled as I looked to Sun Dancer.

"We don't have much time." Her gaze seemed to linger on me a moment, before she looked down. She began working on the cover, and before long, the frighteningly dim glow of his heart reached me. "Now bare your spark and press your chest to his. Will your energy into him through it."

I swallowed, but it felt like there was a lump in my throat. Pulling apart my chest plates once again, I bared my heart. I slowly leaned forward, feeling my heart pulling towards his almost immediately. A gasp tore through my throat as I leaned forward more, the feeling of longing and warm electricity rushing through my veins as they finally connected.

That longing and eletricity quickly turned to overwhelming pressure and emotions and I closed my eyes, trying to focus on feeding him my energy as I fought the sensations. I reached down, feeling it as our hearts seemed to circle each other, brushing against each other as little jolts of electricity ran through me. My heart pressed against the almost burning hot heat of his, smoothly rolling in place before pulling back slightly.

Everything I could _feel_! And...were those his emotions? I could sense a swell of emotions that were not nearly as dark as my own, but darker than that of my sparklings. So much anger and pain.

And it only made me feel worse, figuring those emotions had to be directed at me. Even as the almost pleasureable sensations rolled through me, robbing me of my focus and strength.

_Is this what sparkmating is like?_ I wondered, feeling my cooling fans switch on as my body began to heat. _Focus, Ken._ I focused on my energy and realized I could feel a drain, like something was sucking my energy from me.

Our hearts sped up, brushing against each other.

_Am I initiating a sparkmating?_ I really should have asked. His emotions almost seemed to swell even more, as if reaching towards me, and I reached back, trying to send all the apology and reassurances I could. Just like with the sparklings, something seemed to snap within me, and I couldn't help but scream, thrashing against his form as my own overwhelming pain and his own emotions threw me for a jumble.

It only took a moment to calm, but I was in no shape to really analyze any of this too much, though I did notice that our hearts seemed to be stuck together, rolling in sync.

"Kendra!"

_Well shit. It's about bloody time, you useless... Augh!!_ I snarled mentally, my mind shifting from my sparklings, who were shifting around in the hold, to Optimus, whose heart seemed to get hotter. No, not just his heart. It felt like his whole body was getting hotter against mine.

"I've healed his wounds." The voice was dark. "Now I suppose there's only one thing left to do."

"Kendra, pull back."

Closing my eyes, I felt the way his body shifted beneath me. _I...don't wanna..._ Shaking my head, I struggled to pull back. The emotions seemed to suddenly shift to longing and near desperation. It wasn't easy to pull away, I didn't want to leave him with those emotions all alone. It was almost like he had a grip on me, and I had to fight it to get away. Slowly, I pulled back, my body once again echoing agony and longing. I could barely breathe as I sat up, watching with blurry eyes as his heart glowed brightly, farther out of his chest than it had been.

Hands were on me, but the feeling seemed to fade from my body. As I toppled over sideways, a sudden physical agony ripped through me, causing me to scream. That, coupled with the emotional agony from knowledge I was the one to harm Optimus in the first place, and I couldn't _stop_ screaming. The screamed echoed loudly in the room, even as the arms that held me tightened down.

"Hold her!"

"What happened?!"

"Are they ok?"

"What did she do?!"

"She's... She's..."

"Maybe...she wasn't as dead as we thought..."

"Enough chatter!"

My screams weren't the only sounds in the room. I could hear the others chatting, but anything beyond their voices didn't register. Even as my own screams faded, I could hear the little ones screaming, and feel the searing burning in my heart.

"Is it her spark?!"

"Is that... The sparklings!"

**CLANK!**

"Enough! Shut your traps and help me!"

I gasped for breath, feeling my body shaking violently as the truth of the situation hit me. I felt like my body was being overloaded with information and sudden power. I saw myself shooting Optimus, felt as though I'd shot myself.

_What did I do?! I shot him! I _shot_ him!! Oh, God, what have I done?! Please, I'm so sorry, tell me he's gonna be fine! Please? Tell me...?_ My mouth once again wouldn't cooperate with me, but I knew it was just my own shock. I felt no foreign presence, even as I gasped, body shuddering and heart spinning painfully fast. _I hurt him. I.. I lo...._

"Kendra?! Listen to me, you need to focus! Can you tell us what happened?!"

_I betrayed them. I l...l... I love..._ My eyes shot open and I gasped sharply as my eyes locked on a bright yellow face. The owner of the arms wrapped around me, I guessed. _I...love...him...? _The pain got worse, and before I knew what was happening, everything was going black.

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	34. Incomplete Bonding

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : I don't claim to own any of the terms in this chapter, except the twin song I used earlier in this story. I've never seen it used before, so... I claim to own it! XD

I also don't own spark bonding, sparkmating, or spark longing, as I've read various versions in other stories before.

There's only a couple chapters left of the story. I apologize to those who enjoyed it, but I did warn you at the beginning of the story. I will repeat, this story is up for grabs, if anyone wants to attempt to work their magic on it. Just let me know! :)

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**(Two Days Later)**

Things had _not _gone well since I rejoined the group.

Sure, they tried to assure me that things were ok. Ironhide refused to really talk to me, but when he did, it was basically 'Get over it'. Sunny was more or less the same, and Barricade was _still_cheering me on for taking out the boss bot. Of course, whenever he was stupid enough to say something like that around Soundwave, he got a knock on the skull. The others all tried varying degrees of 'It wasn't your fault' and 'No one blames you', but I really wasn't buying it.

It didn't help that although he was healed, Optimus Prime was taking forever to wake up. He'd been 'asleep' for two days, showing no signs of waking up, and even though Ratchet insisted he was just regaining his strength... Well, how much sleep did he _need_ to recover??

"Stop blaming yourself." Rana came over and sat down, leaning against me. "He's fine, really. He just...sleeps a _lot_. Besides, no one blames you."

_Thirteen. That makes number thirteen._

"How are you?"

I raised an eyebrow in her direction. "I _shot _Optimus. And I wasn't just aiming for him, either. If he hadn't moved, I would have _shot _my sparklings, too." My eyes turned back down to the two little balls of metal in my hands, deep asleep after having seemingly adjusted being in my care again. It hadn't gone smoothly, either. Maybe some part of them knew I'd been trying only a short while ago to kill them, or they couldn't adjust to the magnitude of my pain... It had taken them a while to calm enough to feed and rest. Carefully, I placed them back inside me. "I could have killed him. I wasn't... I couldn't... I _tried_!" The tears came to my eyes again. "I _tried_, _so_ damn hard! I couldn't fight it!"

Arms wrapped around me, and I would have leaned into Rana's arms, until I realized the embrace was coming from _behind_, and Rana had a rather smug smirk across her features. Before I could even think to pull away, I found myself pressed against a warm, hard surface. A _familiar_ warm, hard surface.

_Oh hell._

I shot a glare out of the corner of my eye as Rana nodded to the strong, warm, silent figure behind me, before getting up and walking off. _Thanks a lot, traitor._ Closing my eyes, I allowed myself a brief moment to sort through my feelings, as the presence of a growling semi engine caught my attention. _Ok, so here comes the dreaded after conversation._Right about then, I was hoping Starscream would show up and abduct me again, just so we could avoid it.

Then there was also the dreaded terror as I tried to understand what he might be thinking. _He won't blame me. He's Optimus Prime._ That was a small voice in my head, but a much larger one kept screaming, _He's got the right to blame you, moron. You TRIED TO KILL HIM! Helllooooo!!!_

And let's not forget the utter _joy_ that he was conscious. Alive, conscious, healing nicely... Yeah, right about then, dreaded conversation or no, I was almost on cloud nine. _Thank you, GOD!_I mean, I'd been worried all this time. Well, ok, guilty and worried, and now he really _was_ awake, like Ratchet kept telling me would happen.

_Well he _is_ the commanding medical officer for a reason, ya know._

With a sigh, I felt the warm arms shift, and a warm chin seemed to join them, resting on my shoulder. I felt his holo-body pressing against me, and realized he was straddling the boulder, sitting flush against me.

"It's not your fault, you know."

_And _that_ makes nineteen of _that_ phrase._ One eyebrow slowly rose. "It sure as hell feels like it."

"You were under control. I could see that from your eyes." He sighed, tilting his head so it brushed against my own. His cheek was _so_ warm. I couldn't get over just how real their holograms seemed. "I could see a lot in your eyes." His grip abruptly tightened, and I heard him hiss a little.

At that same time, I felt as though I'd stuck my finger in an outlet. Ok, so maybe that wouldn't hurt me anymore, but I still felt a little...shocked. No pun intended. A tiny jolt passed through my body and I shivered, even as I felt my heart shudder slightly in my chest, almost as though it was trying to stretch away from my body. It was awkward enough to leave me a little breathless. _Whoa. _I blinked for a moment, before rubbing at my chest. "Are you ok?" _That's happened before, but...is he feeling it, too?_ The way he'd stiffened and his hiss had not escaped me.

I felt his throat convulse as he swallowed against me. Looking over my shoulder, I was immediately caught in the bright blue of his eyes. They almost seemed to glow, defined by long, dark and thick lashes, and his tanned complexion. As I watched, they cut over to me, so he was staring at me out of the corner of his eye, and I tried to ignore the urge to melt against him.

Which was pretty difficult, considering it was chilly, and he was nice and warm, and he seemed completely content to sit there with his arms around me. Which was also weird, because from what I'd seen, other than sparring, Autobots weren't overly physical with each other.

"I am... I'm fine." His eyes seemed to observe me. "Side effects of the incomplete bonding." His eyes seemed to widen all of a sudden, and before I knew what was happening, he was pulling away, muttering quietly in Cybertronian. Before I could even open my mouth, he was moving swiftly, standing in front of me, but with his back to me as he stared into the woods.

And I suppose I couldn't blame him. "...Incomplete...bonding...?" _What does he...?_ I thought back to what I'd done, the warmth and comfort of my heart pressing against his, and felt the heat rush to my cheeks. _I'd felt...safe...comfortable. I felt his.. I felt his emotions. _And that reminded me of the bond I had with the sparklings. _Is he talking about...?_

"You have no idea, do you?"

"No, of course I know." I shot back sarcastically. "I was just asking to hear myself speak. Optimus, what did I _do _to you?" I stood up quickly, approaching his holo-body and reaching out to grab his arm. Instead of actually grabbing him, however, I hissed as a shock ran through me. I felt my power rise and flow into him briefly, before he pulled away with a jerk, and I tramped down on it. "Sorry." I looked down at my fingers, rubbing the palm of my hand with my other hand. "Still hard to get used to."

"It is hard to believe, after all of this, she simply gave up."

After using so much of her limited power to heal Optimus, Sun Dancer had gone into stasis lock, which apparently was pretty severe. Instead of _just_ going into forced shut down to try and save her life, something happened. Ratchet believed she manually shut down all of her backup coding, so that when stasis lock engaged, her spark would simply...stop.

It was painless and immediate for her, he assured me. The shock of my power flowing back into me had been what initially set me off, compounded by my own pain at.._shooting_ Optimus, the pain and anger I felt in his heart while we were connected, and the pain from my baby girls.

It just didn't make any sense why she gave up, unless she realized she really _wasn't_ meant to be here.

"Hm..." I didn't really know _what _to say. To continue on with that much less painful topic, I had to get into theorizing what was on a total stranger's mind. As much as I might have been related to her, she wasn't the kind ancestor I imagined, even if she did have a point or two. To ignore this topic change would mean having to continue on with the more painful one. Still... "Incomplete bonding?" My voice was almost a whisper. I didn't need to be a master of reading Autobot masks to know he didn't want to talk about it.

I would have loved to say his human holoform face was easy to read, too, except he kept his back to me, as though knowing his expression would betray him.

After an agonizingly long moment, I began to wonder if he was even going to answer. Closing my eyes, I shook my head, vaguely aware it was getting dark and his lights were on, flaring brightly against me. I knew that even without him _looking_ at me, he could see me, and I folded my arms over myself. _Is it really that bad?_

"An incomplete bonding..." He trailed off, as though trying to piece together his thoughts and words. "When two sparks join, a bond is usually created. This is the sparkmate bond. One of three kinds of bonds. Sparkmating, sibling bonds and creator/offspring bonds. Sparkmating, however, is the more direct, with spark on spark contact. The others are more emotional." He seemed to lose himself in his descriptions. I could tell he was, for the lack of a better term, dumbing it down for me. Or at least trying to, but seemed to be struggling with _how_ to express the thoughts in his head.

"I have known of rare occasions when the sparks would not bond properly due to one...hinderance or another, but almost always _some _form of spark bond was created." He sighed heavily. "Spark boosting is only used in the most dire of situations. This is also because if they are not careful, the sparks of the two participants can mate and bond."

"What if they're men?" I blinked, my mind flashing me images of Ratchet leaning over Optimus, and then the great big animé hearts floating over their heads after, and I shook my head violently, rubbing my forehead with my palm. _Bad images. Very freaking bad images._ Would make for an utterly hilarious picture, though.

There was a slight chuckle. "I suppose that is one of the rare occasions two sparks will reject each other. Same goes for if both participants are siblings, or creator and offspring."

_In other words incest is out. _I raised an eyebrow as my mind once again decided to leap off the deep end, throwing images of Sideswipe trying to woo Sunstreaker with giant handfuls of squashed flowers and canisters of armor polish. _Hm, I dunno if that's just wrong, or tempting._ The giggle was out before I could even stop it. "Oh, the images. I _so _gotta tell Rana and Mikeala about this." Looking up, I felt my cheeks flare up when I saw Optimus looking over his shoulder, his face illuminated in the bright light of his headlights. Blue eyes danced with confused amusement. "Never mind. The oh-so-complex musings of the human mind." I shrugged before raising an eyebrow. _Or in my case, the formerly human mind._

"So... I...almost forced you into a spark bonding, and now we both have side effects from it?" I blinked again. "Wow, I try to help and I only screw things up worse." _Why didn't I think to ask Ratchet about the spark bonding and mating and things? _I frowned. _Oh, right. Mental scarring._

"No. You saved my life. You did not know what was happening, and things were far too dire to take the time to ask." His expression darkened as he turned more, his face turning away from me as he turned his body so I had a side profile view of him. He once again stared off into the woods, and I found myself wanting to ask what it was he was seeing. "You did not _force_ me into anything, Kendra. What we both feel... It's not a very..._common_ side effect." Now he seemed to hesitate. "Perhaps Ratchet would be best to explain better."

Crossing my arms firmly over my chest, I tried to ignore the chill in the air as I stared him down. "Funny, you seemed to be doing a pretty decent job so far." I stepped closer, feeling my eyes narrow. "What're you trying to say? Is it because I hurt you?" I kept coming back to that, simply unable to believe that he didn't blame me, he was telling me to get over it, and that was that. You just don't..._forget_ or _forgive_ something like that. Not so easily.

Not in my opinion, at least.

My sparklings shifted a little inside me, and I rubbed my stomach, looking down in surprise and really taking in that I was beginning to look fairly outwardly pregnant. _They're growing fast._

"It's just..." His voice softened and he glanced at the ground, and... Was I imagining things, or did the cooling fans in his truck form just kick in? "Kendra, the side effects we..._both_ seem to be experiencing... They are what's called 'spark longing'. It happens when two bots who...care greatly for each other, attempt a bonding of their sparks. If the bond is incomplete, the sparks will long for each other, causing quite uncomfortable pulling and tensing sensations randomly."

_Two bots who...'care' for each other?_ I felt my eyes widen. _Is he...embarrassed?? What am I not getting?! He can't be saying... Not after I almost killed... No. It can't be._ My heart hammered heavily in my chest, and I gasped, my hand going over it as though I could hold it in place, even though it felt as though it was trying to rip it's way out of me._ He can't. I hurt him. I almost _killed_ him!_

"If left, the bond will continue to weaken until it is as though it never occurred at all, making us sicker and sicker until it has faded completely. A complete bond is permanent. Forever." Once again Optimus turned away.

So if we did nothing, the bond would make us sicker as it faded. But if we _did_ do anything, it would mean bonding to each other permanently. It would mean sticking him with me. Did he..._want_ to do something about it? How the hell was I supposed to ask???

Opening my mouth, I tried to think of what to say, but my mind froze. Instead, I could only stare dumbly at the ground as my mind whirled over his words again and again and again.

_Wow... Uh... Just what the hell am I supposed to say to that?!?_

* * *

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	35. The Wish

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

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**(Normal POV)**

_"Does _nothing_ go the way I want it?!"_ A low snarl erupted from the elongated jaws of the disturbingly large got. He glared down at the others, his black eyes flashing in the dark, dense forests of an unpopulated island somewhere... He snarled again. _"We try to create the priestess of old once again, and she betrays us. We try to use the irritating femme of this time, and she breaks the spell. The Prime still lives!!"_

_"My Lord..."_ Thundercracker's voice had gone raspy and higher pitched than usual. His own crimson optics were now a dull violet. _"We could simply overwhelm them and kill the priestess. We've captured her twice, if we can get to her, we can kill her."_

A low rumble escaped the massive bot's body as he turned, limping off without a word. _But I want to _use_ her. She's beautiful, and talented, if naive in her true abilities. I want to taint her purity and make her mine._ Thoughts flew quickly through his processors, of the things he wanted to do, and he found a smirk curling at his lips. _Yes... Make her mine, and then have her kill the Prime. If she has nothing left of her innocence and sense of 'righteousness', she won't fight me._

He stalked through the woods, his mind on the lithe, lean, silvery form as she fought. The graceful way she moved, and the strength with which she attacked. _It won't be easy, but I don't want to kill her if I don't have to. Would be such a waste of power._ Although he knew once she was gone he'd have sole control of the shards.

Something hit him then, an idea floating to the surface of his darkened processors. _The reunited allspark will grant it's holder I wish. I could have my femme _and_ my ultimate power._ With a dark cackle, he transformed and flew out of sight.

**(Kendra's POV)**

"Sunfire." I watched with a small smile as the little femme with the Bee-like antennai looked up almost immediately, recognizing her name. She clicked at me, and I felt my smile grow. "What do you think of him? I really like him, but he can't feel the same way...can he?"

I was sitting alone in one of the many States. I'd long since stopped paying attention to which was which. While I enjoyed the idea of travelling the world, unfortunately, our mission left me more focused on everything going on _in_ our group, rather than around it. We'd found a large mountain range, that extended as far as even Optimus' optics could see, and hid amongst the rocky peaks from human eye. Right now, I was sitting in the middle of a forested clearing, the others giving me time to myself, even though they remained close enough to keep a sensor on me at all times.

Tilting her head a little, Sunfire blinked and clicked again.

"I wish I knew what you were saying." I sighed longingly and reached out. My smile came back as she reached out and grabbed one of my fingers with her tiny little hands, clicking rapidly with big blue eyes. She smiled back and purred as she leaned into my touch, and my other hand came up to rub gently at Moonfrost's back, where she lay, next to her sister, on my lap. "I'm so lucky having you two." My sensors pinged, and I looked up, startled to see someone approaching.

And even more startled to find Soundwave sitting cross legged across from me. His face was still the emotionless mask I was used to, but I watched as he quietly reached over, his fingers almost caressing against Moonfrost's audio processors, causing her to purr. "They are lucky to have you. We had thought all sparklings extinct." He was quiet for a very long moment. "I am pleased to see we were wrong."

I nodded, my smile once again forming. "I am, too. They're so sweet."

"Barricade, Blackout and I were on another mission when the attacks on the femmes and sparklings happened. While I do not condone it, I was....helpless to do anything to change it when we returned. Barricade also carries great regret, and Blackout refuses to aknowledge that they are..." He paused. "-_Were_ gone. Perhaps he was right." He tilted his head just as my sensors pinged again. "Welcome, Autobot Prowl."

_So much for being alone and musing._ Although I couldn't help but be grateful. With all these distractions, I didn't need to worry about the painful thought of the incomplete bond that was fading all the time._ Ow!_ Right then, my heart lurched, causing me to gasp slightly, and both sparklings to start. "I'm ok, sweeties." I sighed, rubbing my palm over the spot that still ached. _I...don't want the bond...to fade._

But then, it wasn't really _my_ decision, was it? I couldn't very well demand Optimus complete the bond. I wasn't a monster.

"Spark longing." Prowl sat next to me, and I handed a sleepy Moonfrost to him, as I gently scooped Sunfire up and handed her to Soundwave. Both bots looked a little uncomfortable holding sparklings, which was amazing considering both tended to be masters of masking their emotions. I couldn't help the small laugh, even as Prowl began to pet 'Frost, and Soundwave held Sunny close to his heart, in a slightly protective embrace. "Uhm..." The second in command cleared his throat a little. "Has anyone told you about spark longing?"

_Don't wanna broach this subject, thank you very much. _"Relax, guys. They can tell you're tense." I reached out and relaxed Soundwave's hold on Sunfire and watched as she relaxed against his armored chest, looking over at her twin in Prowl's hand with a tilted head and alert blue eyes. "See?"

"Kendra-"

"Prowl, you're gripping her neck a little too tightly." I shook my head with a giggle as I reached over and pulled his fingers back. In reality he'd been supporting her neck, but had a little too much pressure in his fingers. I could feel her discomfort, but as he released his hold, she smiled up at him and clicked.

Both bots froze, and I looked between them. "What? What'd she say??"

Prowl reached over and placed her back in my arms. He refused to meet my gaze, but I watched as his lips seemed to tremble slightly, even as he shook his head. Getting up, he turned and walked off.

"She just referred to him as 'mommy'." The monotone statement had me turning to Soundwave, whose one eyebrow was raised. "He is simply...flustered, I believe."

"'Mommy'? Really?! Well jeez, I'll bet he's flustered!" I blinked down at 'Frost, listening to her making the same clicking sounds as she looked up at me, blinking and smiling as she clicked away.

"She is calling you 'mommy' now."

"At least she got it right the second time around." I snickered, unable to help myself. "Poor Prowl." _Rana _so_ has to hear about this._

A sudden shout caught my attention, and I turned. I scanned the horizon for any sign of a possible enemy, but instead found Barricade glaring at the Corvette twins. "Oh hell no!" I groaned, getting up quickly. I took Sunfire from Soundwave as we made our way over to the others.

"All you two ever do is complain! Typical Autobot glitch-mice." The black and white cruiser snarled.

Sunfire whimpered quietly, but all three mechs froze and instantly looked over, their argument put on hold at the sound of a sparkling in danger.

I felt one eyebrow slowly sliding up, even as Prowl approached with Rana and Star, Ravage sitting next to the girl on her other side. _Huh, who needs a bull horn with a sparkling around? One little whimper and all activity stops._ "Yeah, they whine. They're the Corvette twins, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe." I shrugged as if it was no big deal, which it really wasn't.

_**Tell me something I don't know!**_ The obnoxious voice echoed from Bumblebee's speakers as he sauntered over with Sam and Mikeala.

"It's who they are, Barricade."

"Like I said, Typical."

"Of _them_." I took a step forward and caught his eye. "I haven't heard a whole lot of the others bitching and moaning about much." I then paused. "You, on the other hand..." I trailed off suggestively and watched as his eyes narrowed my way. "Honestly, Barricade, you either enjoy spending time here or you don't. What's with you? No one's forcing you to stay if it's really so horrible."

Not that it was, and I knew that. He didn't complain as much as I would have normally expected, and I felt my cheeks warm when everyone turned towards me. Even Barricade looked surprised by my words, but he simply huffed.

"What do ya expect? They're Auto-scum, and we're Decepticons. It's not like we'll ever get along."

"You were doing pretty damn well so far." Now my voice softened and I held my sparklings against me. "What's really so different between you guys? You both want the war to stop. You both wish your home world was in one piece and things were like they were before the war. Tell me, Barricade... Sunstreaker, Sideswipe... If the war had never happened, would you all really be the way you are now? Would you hate each other with such a passion?"

I was more than aware that we'd gathered an audience. I felt my spark pull and winced slightly when it felt like it was tugging me to the left. A glance out of the corner of my eye showed Optimus rubbing at his chest and staring at me, but I didn't turn to him.

Not even the mouthy Barricade, or the cocky twins could really answer that. I could tell they all wanted to deny the possibility they _could_ have been friends if the war had never taken place. They wanted to hide behind their masks, behind their defences, but my question was really requiring them to think more than they really wanted to.

_If all of this... This..._bred_ hatred of each other is a part of the war, then wouldn't my wish mean it never would have happened? Would they all have been friends? Optimus and Megatron would be true brothers. Barricade might not be so jaded. Bumblebee would never have had to witness so much pain. The little ones would still have their creator._

The familiar pain made it's way through my heart.

"What does it matter?" Barricade was the first to speak. "The war happened. Cybertron's gone, along with any 'innocence' any of us _might_ have had. We've been trained to fight each other, and as much as I might not outwardly complain about it, it goes against everything I believe in to work _with _the enemy."

"But the enemy isn't the Autobots." I frowned, tearing my eyes from my babies. "The enemy isn't your fellow Cybertronians. You know what? We should just stop referring to each other as 'Autobot's and 'Decepticons' in this group. To me, Decepticons are bots like Starscream and his followers. You're not evil like them, like I've come to associate the term 'Decepticon' with."

"Hmph, changing names ain't gonna do a thing, _priestess._"

"No, but maybe bringing back your world will." I murmured, freezing when all sound around me seemed to evaporate into thin air. I beathed out heavily, realizing what I'd just said, and I could feel the burning of their stares.

"What...did you say?" Optimus' voice was quiet.

_Could have sworn I mentioned this around him before. Maybe not._ Blinking, I looked up, noting how everyone was staring at me, a lot of them almost blankly. "I said... I said, maybe bringing back your world will help."

"An' how were ya plannin' ta do tha'?" Jazz tilted his head a little, scratching at his metallic temple with one claw.

"The wish." Rana's voice was quiet, but I heard it echo through the clearing. Her face was pale and she was clutching the curled form of Star tightly in her lap. "I thought you'd thought better about that."

"Better? You have to see-"

"I don't _want _to see!" Her shout echoed through the almost frighteningly still air, as she jumped to her feet in Prowl's hand, both the fox and Ravage jumping to their feet, alert. "I don't _want_ them to go! I don't _want _everything to..." She trailed off. "I'd give anything to have my family back, but I don't wanna lose my new family for it. It's not fair."

"Welcome to life!" I turned towards her, anger filling my body. I reached out, handing the sparklings to Soundwave who was at my side, before facing Rana completely. "Life isn't fair! Don't you get that? They want their home back, well I have a way! I can finally give them their true happiness!"

"And to hell with the rest of us, huh? Sam and Mikeala? They'll never have been thrust together due to an alien war."

"But they met through Sam's car and got talking." I shot them a look, and quickly realized I'd be getting no help from them. "They'd still meet and talk, and get to know each other."

"What about Bumblebee?? You'll take his friends away."

"I'll be giving him back his _family_!"

"So it's right then? Destroying one world's happiness to bring back another?!"

"Yes, Rana! It's the right thing to do! You won't even miss them, or them us! They'll never have met us! There won't even _be_ any _pain_ because _none_ of us will know what we're missing!!!" My heart clenched as I shrieked at the poor girl, the girl who was really far more mature than her years let on.

"Who are you to make that decision for anyone?" Mikeala's voice caught my attention, and pure hurt filled her features. "Don't you think it would have been nice to ask us?"

"So your hearts could shatter?" I felt the tell tale burning in my eyes but ignored it as I stared the girl down. "So you can agonize over when it's going to be? Spend _every_ waking moment second guessing whether you can go through with it or not??"

"Like you are?" This time it was Sam who spoke up, his own expression carefully masked. "Sounds like you're speaking from personal experience."

"I'm..." I swallowed heavily, looking to the ground. "I meant what I said. Life _isn't_ fair." The hot tears coursed down my cheeks as I took a step back. "You think it's _easy_ knowing what I have to do? What would be the _right_ thing to do? I'll be losing my own family, my friends, my _babies_. But I'll give it up if it means they can be truly happy. Bumblebee will have his family. Sunfire and Moonfrost will have their true creators. Optimus and Megatron can have a chance to be true brothers."

"You think bringing Cybertron back and erasing our memories is gonna help?" Sideswipe took a step forward. "We may not act like it, but this war has taught us a lot. We've learned more-"

"About killing and watching those around you die." I snapped angrily, turning on him. "Are those memories you're really proud to have? Are you really _happy_ closing your eyes and seeing the bots you've killed and friends you've lost, all the time?"

"But we don't! You think you know _so_ much about us! Yeah, we've lost a lot, and taken lives, too. So what? It's a part of life, even if the war never happened and Cybertron still existed, whose to say we wouldn't face a different battle for our lives?!"

I shook my head, my heart refusing to listen to their words. "You're only saying this because you think you'll hurt if this happens. You think you'll be left with big holes in your hearts."

"And we will." Rana's voice quieted. "Even if we don't 'know' what we're missing, I'm pretty positive we'll all have these holes left in us that only certain people can fill."

When you really thought about it, it all came down to what was fair. The sad thing is, life really _isn't_ fair. We don't always get what we want. Look at me. I want Barricade to stop being so defensive. I wanted... Well, if I was being perfectly honest, which I really wasn't -to them or myself- I wanted...Optimus.

"It's a simple issue." Optimus spoke up, using his normal commanding voice. He moved forward, standing in the center of the bots and humans alike, looking around. I couldn't find it in myself to meet his eyes, but I felt him at leas glance my way. "Let us put it to a majority vote. All in favor of remaining on earth as long as we can, raise your hands."

I didn't want to see their answer, even though I was both _so_ sure the majority would agree with me, but also...afraid. I didn't want to look up and see who agreed with who, but I forced myself. I was their priestess. Even with my own pains, I was here to help _them_, not gripe about my own problems. And once again, being honest, I'd originally thought up the wish for _them_.

Raising my eyes, I blinked, not entirely certain if I should be startled or not.

Nearly every bot had their hand raised, but more than that, all of the humans had theirs in the air. What _really_ surprised me was that all three former Decepticons had their hands in the air as well.

"That settles that." Sunstreaker smirked smugly, his own hand halfway in the air, showing his 'I don't really give a frag' attitude about it all.

Raising an eyebrow, I rolled my eyes at him, before sighing and shaking my head. "I suppose it does." Movement to my left caught my attention, and I turned to find two tiny curled up balls of metal being held out to me. Taking my half asleep sparklings, I sighed again as I cuddled them close to me. "Mommy, huh? I guess you get your wish." As much as I didn't really feel like smiling, looking down at them, I couldn't help it.

Then, I closed my eyes.

_Well, I guess that's one wish idea shot down. So...now what?_

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**Note** : I don't own anything at all about the three kinds of bonds. They seem kind of common sense to me, and I've seen similar things done in other fics. Spark _longing_ on the other hand... I'm not sure I've seen that done before. Either way... Yeah... Damn, just lost my train of thought. XD

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	36. Bonding

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

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**(A Month Later, Kendra's POV)**

After the revelation of the wish, I thought things would be horribly awkward. I was only partially right.

Most of the bots only seemed to resume how things were. Prowl seemed awkward around me, but it might have been because Moonfrost had called him 'Mommy' once again, though she knew that term was meant more for me. It was like 'Mommy' was a nickame for him. Either that, or she'd taken to calling him 'Owl'.

What was worse? Optimus was 'Timmie' to Sunfire, which was _always_ enough to send me to the ground in hysterics, despite the fact that things _were_ very awkward between himself and I.

And speaking of awkward...

_The pain's only getting worse. I guess...the bond is fading. It's not so much tugging as burning hotly._ I sighed as I curled up in a large warehouse. The shards still hadn't fused, and now we had two dozen shards gathered, from travelling through the different states. Now, the humans had gone home for a few days, to visit their families, and the rest of us split up to do our own thing. _I wish it was....easier...to ask Optimus what he wanted._

The majority of the bots had chosen to stay with me in an abandoned section of the town, in various warehouses. Bumblebee and Jolt had gone with the Witwickys. Jazz was with Mikeala. Ironhide went with Will, and Ratchet had gone with Epps. Rana, myself, the former Decepticons and the rest of the Autobots were all split up.

The sweet tone of dual hums caught my attention and I looked down as the familiar tune sounded through the air slightly. The smile was impossible to ignore as I watched my sparklings humming their twin song together.

I hesitated only a moment, listening to them, before making a rather rash decision I probably shouldn't have. Closing my eyes, I focused on and found the fading bond link between Optimus and myself, once again grateful to Ratchet for teaching me about it. I tugged on my end, trying to ignore the tense pulling sensation, knowing Optimus would recognize it for what it was, a call for him to come to me.

I still didn't have their internal communications, and I knew pulling on the link like that could either strengthen it, or cause it to snap, causing me agony since it was my end that was pressuring it. It was the only way I knew of to get his attention though, without startling or interrupting my twins.

Then I looked back down, trying to pick up the tune, and humming in parts. I felt the love and contentment grow and I felt the happy tears burning in my eyes. _God, I'm always crying._ I wanted to stroke Sunfire's antennai, but was afraid to interrupt their singing, _really_ wanting Optimus to hear them. This was only the second time I'd heard the tune.

Within moments I heard the quickened, heavy steps and looked up, my heart quickening as I spotted the red and blue flame hunkering down to enter the warehouse. Once he was in the opening, Optimus froze perfectly still, his eyes on the ground. The only real sound in the room was the humming of the twins, their voices in perfect harmony with each other.

Slowly, his head raised, his eyes first finding me, and staring at me a long moment with an unfathomable look, then slowly, they lowered to the twins in my lap, and softened, the blue brightening in emotion as he walked over as quietly as possible. He sat down next to me, and I felt my own body stiffen against my will, feeling his one warm, hard leg pressing against mine, and his arm firmly pressed against mine as he settled down. my heart once again tugged hotly, trying to push me into giving in to my urge to melt against him.

Luckily, he remained quiet, his eyes fixed on the humming sparklings and shining softly.

They continued to hum their little song for a few more moments before giggling quietly and picking at each other, playing around happily. That's about when I felt the tell tale burning in the side of my head that told me he was staring, and my heart lurched again, causing me to double over. Vaguely, I heard a pained grunt.

"I believe we need to talk." Optimus' voice was slightly hesitant and breathless.

_Please, no._ "About...?" I knew I was playing naive, and I was playing it badly. Closing my eyes, I tried to ignore the longing running through me, even as my mind flashed back to when I'd kissed him. _Why do I want what I can't have?_

"I believe you know." Hands reached in front of me and took the sparklings. Optimus' carrying chamber for the sparklings was larger, probably because of his frame. They were too big for me to carry now, but they still managed to fit inside him.

"Do we have to?" I froze, stiffening up even more when I realized _what_ I'd just asked and how it might come across. "I just mean... It's...awkward...and kinda..." _Well, it's painful. I want him, but I can't..._ I refused to go there, and took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.

"It is...difficult, yes. Perhaps it's best to simply ask... What do you want?"

_Not that it matters. 'I'm' not the only one this is affecting._ "What do _you_ want?" Daring a glance over, I watched as he seemed to look away. "See? Not that easy. Can we not get into a 'What do _you_ want' war, please? Optimus... Tell me what I should do." My eyes burned but these tears were of frustration and pain.

"I cannot. The decision does not affect only you."

"Which is why telling you what _I_ want isn't that easy." I sighed and shook my head. "And vice versa." Looking down at my free hands, I pursed my lips. _I guess we're having this out, whether I like it or not. There...may...be an easier way..._ I closed my eyes and tried to steady my heart with deep, calm breaths as I thought over what I was about to do.

"I understand. I believe the reason I find expressing my own desires may be the same as yours."

_Fear of rejection?_ I raised an eyebrow. _Kinda hard to believe. C'mon Ken, it's now or never..._ I shifted forward until I was on my hands and knees, before twisting and facing Optimus. "I..." _Speak, and he has more of a chance to..._ Funny how my 'simple' answer wasn't quite as simple as I liked. I was mentally kicking myself, even as I looked up, seeing his questioning gaze on my face.

Something about him just drew me. Before I realized what I was doing, my fingers were trailing over seams in his metallic cheek, over his chin, around his lips plates. his face was warm, firm, but his face had a surprising hint of give in it.

"Kendra..." His eyes had softened, and his tone sounded strangely soft.

My heart lurched, but it wasn't as painful this time. Taking a final deep breath, I leaned in. Pressing my lips against his, I felt the warmth and firmness of them, even as his mouth opened in surprise. I caressed his lips with my own, thought it was awkward with the stiffness of my _skin_. Capturing his top lip, I tugged on it gently with my teeth a little, before returning to kissing him.

My heart hammered in my chest, both in fear and excitement. I didn't feel him breathing or responding, and he just seemed to sit there for so long. He didn't move, and I began to worry that I was violating his personal space in an unwanted way. I was about to pull away when I felt him move.

Arms came up, grasping my own arms tightly, and I was pressed firmly against the warm, hard edges of his armored chest. Lips moved, almost clumsily, against my own. My heart soared, and then skipped a cycle when his fingers danced lightly over my arms, up to my shoulders to cup my neck. The sensation tickled, and sent a pleasant heat through my system.

My chest tightened when I felt I needed to pull away to breathe. Pressing my forehead against his, I closed my eyes, truly frightened to see what was in his eyes. I panted, struggling to catch my breath.

The fingers of one of his hands travelled down my throat, down to the seam of my chest, tickling at the catches there and causing me to shiver. Then he said the one thing I never in my wildest dreams would have hoped for, and I felt my breathing stop.

"I love you."

The words were...blurted out, quiet and almost shaky, and I realized he really _was_ afraid of the same thing as me. All my doubts faded, even though I still felt the nagging insecurity that came with still being haunted by almost killing him. Looking up, I could see the nervousness in his eyes as he watched me, waiting to see my response.

I couldn't help it. The tears fell, and I felt my lips turn up in a shaky smile. "I love you, too." I probably would have babbled on, overwhelmed by everything, my happiness, my sparklings radiating joy, but before I could utter a word, my lips were captured in a searing kiss that left me more or less empty minded. The fingers pressed against the catching, coaxing them open, and causing me to jolt and gasp.

"_This_ is why _I_ would much rather remain here, then having my world returned. We would have lost so much either way, Kendra. But if we returned to our world, Bumblebee would have lost the closest thing to a brother he'd ever had. Sam. Sam and Mikeala might _not_ have fallen for each other, and I... I wouldn't have _you_. I would like nothing more than for us to complete the bond."

I had to close my eyes as the instinctive pain consumed me. "We'd feel each other's emotions?" I couldn't help the waver in my voice and felt his fingers still immediately. Reaching up, I grasped his hand and squeezed slightly, realizing he'd taken that the wrong way. "I still...can't get past the...nearly killing you thing. It still...really hurts. I don't want you to feel it, too."

The hand cupping my neck moved to the back and I was pulled so I was pressed against his chest. "I felt it when we connected initially. I sincerely doubt your pain now is as bad as it was then, but I survived it. I will always survive it, and it will help, I am certain. Kendra, allow me to share your pain. Bond with me."

I leaned in and pressed the side of my face against his chest. I pressed his hand more firmly to my armored chest plates, even as my heart hummed so hotly, they were already pulling apart on their own. I allowed myself the moment to simply feel his presence. The heat emanating from his body warmed me, I could feel the breaths brushing against the side of my head as I nuzzled his throat, and I felt his body shiver ever so slightly when my own fingers pressed against his own chest.

The large, armored 'windshield' chest plates parted, showing the large protected chamber. As my eyes took in the rune-covered chamber, I trailed my fingers over it. It was hotter than his body, and seemed to vibrate with energy. My fingers trailed over the edge of the cover, and I jumped a little when Optimus gasped sharply and his body jolted, arching towards me. Light blue electricity tingled in my fingers as it danced along the chamber, and as I watched, the cover slowly slid back, revealing the stunning bright blue heart within.

Then he returned the favor, his fingers dancing over my covered chamber. The pleasure was indescribable, and all thought fled my mind as I leaned up and in, kissing him deeply.

**(Normal POV)**

Sideswipe swung at his brother rolling as he dodged a mimicked swing from Sunny. He snickered as they sparred a little distance from the small group of abandoned warehouses, only glancing briefly at the former Decepticons watching them. _Maybe she's right._ He found it hard to believe he'd ever call _Barricade_ a friend, but despite his grouching, the glitch had been surprisingly loyal.

_**'Whatever you're thinking, stop.'**_ Sunstreaker's dark voice cut his thoughts short, before he grabbed one of his blades and swung again, catching Sides' attention as the sparring escalated.

Over at one of the warehouses, Barricade rolled his eyes at the twins, more than aware of Sideswipe's glance, and ignoring it, even if he found himself grudgingly thinking about the priestess' words. He paused a moment, before sighing. "There's still a lot'a shards out there. We can go and collect one or two while the flesh bags are busy and be back to meet them." He got up. "I'm sure Kendra agrees."

He didn't call her by name often, but he was warming up to her. Not that he'd ever admit it. Calling her by name was his way of showing his respect. Turning on his heel, he began towards a large warehouse a good distance away, when his arm was grabbed. He turned a snarl on Soundwave, raising an optic ridge.

"Leave them."

"_Them?_ I'm just going to see the femme."

"Optimus Prime and the priestess are together."

"I'm sure they won't mind-"

"_I_ am certain they _would_."

It could have been his imagination, but Barricade was fairly certain he'd just heard a tell tale tremor of amusement in the large bot's voice, even as he watched the corner of his lips twitch. "What am I missing?"

"We will need to watch over the priestess even more now." Was the only response he got, even as he raised an eyebrow. "Let us spar, Barricade. We must keep our skills sharpened."

Blackout arrived, his own optic ridge raised a little. At the sound of the word 'spar', however, his lips turned up in the corner in a smirk. "Sparring? I'm definitely in!" He cracked his metallic knuckles as he sneered down at Barricade. "Though I'm not sure _he's_ up to the task." He eyed the smaller bot critically.

"Oh _really_?" Shooting the helicopter a look, Barricade's own lips turned up in a smirk. "Wanna bet, fragger? C'mon!" He dashed away through the warehouses, keeping a wide berth from the one the two 'leaders' of the group were supposed to be in and towards another area just big enough to spar in. "You guys coming or not?!" He called over his shoulder.

Exchanging a look with Soundwave, Blackout shook his head. "So tell me, should we be worried about her?"

"If all goes well, there may soon be another sparkling joining the other two." Was the only thing Soundwave stated as he looked down at Rana who ran across in front of them, chasing Star and being chased by Ravage. For a moment, he tilted his head, contemplating the possibility of sparklings from the two animalistic Cybertronians, and then started off after the taunting cruiser.

"_Another_ one?" Blackout's jaw dropped, before he suddenly grinned widely. "Primus! Well I guess we don't need to worry about our race going extinct after all." With a low laugh, he followed the larger bot, his processors suddenly on Barricade and taking the cruiser down a peg or two.

* * *

**Shard Tally** :

Good Guys = 24

Bad Guys = 6

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	37. Problems?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : Second last chapter! Sorry everyone! Thank you to those who enjoyed the story so far, and I hope someday to either get the muse back myself, or to have someone else take on the story and finish it! :) You guys have been wonderful.

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**(Normal POV)**

Screams echoed around them as humans and not humans alike ran amuck through the streets. Vehicles swerved wildly around them, others screaming curses, and even more honking their horns in a panic, as if honking their horns would make the _monsters_ move any faster, or get out of their way.

Most of these vehicles were heading in one direction, away from the city behind them. The same went for the people rushing the streets with them. In fact, if it weren't for the large number of frightening monsters behind them, many of the humans might have paused at the sight before them.

Through the utterly impossible to navigate spots in the vehicle packed highway, two tiny cars sped. They swerved into the tiniest spots, and when they were boxed in, they smashed into some cars, not hard enough to harm the humans inside, but definitely hard enough to push the vehicles out of their way. Then they continued on, _towards_ the city.

What was perhaps most unusual was that one woman made note...

There were no driver's in the cars.

**(Kendra's POV)**

"What're we facing?" I cuddled the twins in my lap as Ravage and Star curled up around Rana's feet -I was going to have to have a word with Soundwave about the obvious attraction- even as Optimus led the others, speeding down the streets. "Anything more than 'there's something here'?"

"We do not know." A faint sense of amusement slid over the newest link, which I was still getting used to. "They were ordered not to get too close."

_Right, shards can hurt them._ I nodded a little, running my hand over the steering wheel in front of me slightly before returning to holding my little ones.

"The soldiers will be going in with you, first. If there are no humans, we can rush in."

Not that, that had stopped them before, but they _were_trying to keep a low profile, which was just easier if they weren't getting spotted in the first place. I wasn't all that comfortable being that far from my sparklings and Optimus, but I knew things had to go a certain way. Luckily, there had been no real issues with the humans when they were at home. Well, other than Sam's own mother wanted to tie him to his own bed to keep him from coming with us, and Lennox's wife had a few choice words for him for being gone so long.

Gently, I handed Sunfire to Rana, quickly followed by Moonfrost, and she put them on the bunk in the back as I grabbed my bow and arrows, getting ready. As Optimus pulled up into a dark town, covered by stormy clouds and high winds, I shivered as the belt unsnapped around me and the door opened. _Here we go._Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to the Autobot insignia on the center of the steering wheel before hopping out.

Once I was on the ground, I stiffened, seeing a dark cloud some distance away. It was far too large to simply be the shard, so I guessed there was probably a whole hoard of monsters there. Sensing a presence at my side, I looked over. "Large dark cloud, that way." I gestured with my head, watching as Lennox and Epps exchanged a look before grabbing their guns. There were two other soldiers with them as well.

As we made our way up and down the streets, we realized there were still humans around. The clue that gave it away? The lighter auras crowding boarded up buildings, and the faint cries of children. That meant unless we really needed their help, it was best if the Autobots stayed out of this battle.

We rushed down empty streets, pausing at one overturned car when we took in large, rather intimidating dents in the metal. "Ouch." I hissed, tilting my head a little and wincing at the large red stain that covered the inside of one of the front windows. "Come on. We'd better hurry." Turning away, I grabbed and knocked an arrow, leading the group around another corner, only to yelp and duck behind another overturned car, thankful this one was at least empty.

Glancing over, I watched Lennox and Epps duck behind a car behind it that I hadn't even noticed, and I raised an eyebrow when Lennox began gesturing wildly. _What is this, charades?_I shook my head cluelessly, before turning and leaning up over the car. My eyes widened, and I shuddered, even as an almost foreign sense of nausea ran through me. "Skeletons?!"

"Ewww!" Rana hissed lowly as she shuddered as well and sat down. Looking over my shoulder she raised an eyebrow. "Uhhhh... I think Will's trying to get a hold of you."

_Gee, I hadn't noticed. And here I thought he was just having an episode. _I rolled my eyes and looked back. "What??" I hissed, waving my arm impatiently.

Lennox made a bunch more completely random movements before really taking in that I had _no _idea what he was trying to say. His face scrunched up funnily, before he slapped Epps on the arm, made vague movements with his arm, and darted up the length of the parked cars to my side.

"There. Wasn't that easy?" I smiled mock sweetly, before giggling at he shot me a dark look. "So what's up?"

"There's at least two dozen of them, and six of us. We should surround and come at them from all sides." He pointed to his own chest and then to one of the soldiers. Then he pointed to a side street a few feet away. "We'll go that way."

Epps nodded, quickly pointing from himself to the soldier right behind him. "And we'll head that way." He gestured back the way we come.

I paused a moment, realizing it would be Rana and myself against... I had to peek. Yeah, definitely over two dozen rotting zombie-skeleton monsters. Then my eyes caught silver fur and I amended that to count Star and undoubtedly Ravage. Hearing a garbled squack, I looked up and blinked at the two metallic 'birds' sitting over a window sill above our heads. _Six humans and four Cybertronians. Wonderful._ "We're gonna have to watch our backs. We're outnumbered."

"I can call for reinforcements."

Shaking my head, I grabbed Will's hand as it raised to his radio. "We _can_ do this. If we wait, we risk losing sight of some of the monsters, or even having more innocent people change _into_ monsters. Go. We'll split up like you suggested."

The guys still hesitated a moment, before they nodded and tore back the way they'd come. As I turned and knocked an arrow, I nodded to Rana, who'd gotten herself a pair of reinforced leather gloves, for support. She cracked her knuckles slightly, and then leaned against Ravage as Star transformed into her fight-ready form in a flash of light and a whir of gears shifting.

"Two minutes to let them get into place, and then we attack. Try to stay behind the cars, in case they do more than shamble forward." I rolled my eyes a little, even though I was undeniably concerned. I felt the heaviness of concern coming from Optimus, and ran a hand over my chest, biting my lip to keep from smirking as I felt his immediate response.

Knocking my arrow,_ again_, I sat back and waited. Hearing a noise, I looked over the hood of the car, and spotted the skeletons shuffling around. Peering through the crowd, I noticed what appeared to be a little girl, but her skin was _so_ pale. I couldn't see her face, but she was crouched on the ground, huddled in a ball. Instantly, my worry rose, prompting Optimus' to, like a domino effect.

I couldn't see her aura, the others around her were _so_ dark and smothering. I just couldn't make it out. Which was weird, I'd never had _that _problem before. _Probably something to do with not having my power for a while. _Though it hadn't bothered me before. _Gonna need to talk to Ratchet about it._

"Rana, we've got a problem." I crouched back down, the bow shaking. "There's a little girl in the center of that horde. If the guys rush in shooting, they might hit her!" I growled quietly. "Why didn't we think to get a radio?"

"I can rush back and tell Epps. I think I can get to him faster than Will." Before I could even respond, she was up and rushing around the corner, followed by her four legged non-Autobot guardian.

I shot a look to Ravage, who'd taken about three steps after them, and then stopped. "Well?" He turned red eyes on me. "You do realize _everyone_ knows about your feelings for Star. Go after her!"

The corner of his lip pressed up, before he shook his head, returning to my side, only looking back once.

_He's not going?_ A nagging sense of suspicion flowed through me, even as I pushed the thought to the side. _I'm gonna have a word with Soundwave and Optimus later._ I really didn't need to be baby sat, I'd made it this far. _Yeah, but I've also been captured twice, cloned once, and controlled once. _Ok, so maybe I _did_ need to be baby sat.

Raising the blow, I pressed the front of it against the hood so the arrow had a clear passage to the skeletons. I saw one dragging a bloody body, only able to tell the man was alive by the fact his aura was still light. _Oh no you don't!_ I let the arrow fly, the bright light catching the immediate attention of the skeletons, even as it hit one and caused it to collapse without a sound.

"At least these guys don't scream." I muttered, ducking behind the edge of the car as I grasped another arrow. Leaning back up, I let out my own startled scream as instant terror and shock flew through me. Falling back, I ended up throwing the arrow, instead of shooting it, even as Ravage growled loudly and leapt forward.

The skeletons had mostly disappeared, but for a few that had..._somehow_ ended up _right_ in front of the car in practically a blink. Their eye sockets were empty but for a nasty black mist that made them seem more like bottomless black holes.

I watched the arrow skim the shoulder of one of the skeletons, and yelped again as it flashed back to where the girl was with a speed that left even my more advanced eyesight in the dust. It opened it's decaying maw, yellowed teeth dripping with a black substance as it reached out, flashing to my side again.

My heart hammered in terror, as I scrambled back, kicking when the creature grabbed a hold of my leg. _When did these guys get so fast?! None of the other monsters I'd _ever_ faced were _this_ fast!_ I really didn't know how else to explain their quick movements as the skeletons seemed to...well..._warp_ around Ravage, causing him to miss several blasts.

A shout caught my attention, and I scrambled back more as the skeleton leaning over me was suddenly knocked aside by a massive silver foot. _!!!_ I clumsily got to my feet and ran back to the owner of the feet, even as I grabbed another arrow, shuddering. _And no sleep for me tonight._ Undoubtedly, I'd only have nightmares about skeletons that moved close to the speed of light.

"I think I would'a preferred the screaming." I growled, hitting another one dead in the center of the chest, quickly followed by yet another between the eyes. _Ye, Gods!_ I shuddered again as I leaned against Optimus' leg, ducking and spinning away when Star attacked a skeleton, knocking it back and into the large metallic foot. "Hey!" I felt a little better seeing the others there. "Stop hitting on my guy!"

The forced chuckles were enough to relax me more, even as Optimus crouched, his hands sweeping speeding skeletons from my path. I raced forward, admittedly emboldened by his actions as I swatted at the skeletons with my bow and made a B-line to the girl who had yet to move from her position. "Hey!" I crouched at her side and put a hand on her back.

Then I shivered violently, almost ripping it back off. The girl barely moved when I touched her, but she was cold as ice, and I was suddenly hit with a frightening feeling of dread. Blinking, I gasped and jumped back when the girl was suddenly surrounded by the blackest aura. My heart clenched and I closed my eyes, even as the sound of material shifting caught my ears.

When I opened my eyes again, I slowly grabbed and knocked another arrow, barely noting my quiver was getting worryingly low. The girl's skin was the whitest I'd ever seen, putting snow to shame. Yet her eyes were empty black sockets, and a foul blue-ish black ooze seemed to drip from her mouth, her lips a motley green-black. The shard was hanging from a chain around her neck, but what was really on my mind, even as I stared her down, was... What could have been so bad in this _child's_ life to make her go evil?

"Oh my God..."

The voice was low, but it was enough to set me into motion. I raised my bow, aimed, hesitated one more second, and fired. I had to close my eyes, unable to watch the girl turn to dust, then they flew back open with a pained, surprised shout as something sharp sank into my arm, causing me to let go of the bow. The fire raced up my arm, even as I shot my hand out, focusing my crackling power into my fingertips as I pressed it against the girl's chest.

But it _still_ didn't work. She hissed darkly and flashed away the same way the skeletons had.

"Oh _hell_ no!" Will growled as he just managed to duck one skeleton, only to get knocked back by another. "Whoa, 'Hide!" He yelped in a rather high pitched voice and scrambled quickly out of the way of an incoming black foot, grimacing as it landed on two of the skeletons with a rather disgusting 'squish'. "Watch where you're stepping!"

"Sorry." The gruff tone belied he was only half sorry, as he stepped back, leaning on Ratchet as he scraped at the bottom of his foot. "Gross."

A hand came down and wrapped around me almost protectively, as the other bots took turns stepping on several skeletons, some a little carelessly. "Kendra, are you seriously damaged?" There was a flash, and his human holoform was standing right in front of me, inspecting the faint traces of energon from the bits in my arm. "Hm." He turned a dark look on the young girl a little ways away.

Grabbing his arm, I pulled him to me and kissed him chastly before pulling back. "You've been there for most of the quest, Optimus. I'm fine. I've had worse." Pulling back even further, I ran my fingers over his own, before pushing slightly, and I sighed a little as I pointed a look at him out of the corner of my eye when the fingers only hesitantly moved out of my way. "I promise, I'm fine." Dashing out from the grasp of his fingers, I called to Rana and ran towards a building.

We entered the massive building, realizing belatedly that it was an office building, and searched the main floor thoroughly for the little girl, who'd appeared in here only moments earlier. Seeing a door swinging shut across the room, my eyes narrowed at the 'basement' sign on it, before I caught Rana's eye.

"These things are gross." She groaned slightly, swiping chunks of chesh off her gloves, and stomping her shoes to knock even more off her feet. "Eww. Eww. Eww."

"I agree." I stalked forward.

"Hey, how come you couldn't tell that the little girl was one of the monsters?"

Opening the door cautiously, I stepped into the hall and began towards a flight of stairs, climbing down them slowly. "I couldn't see her aura. I thought it was just being drowned out by the power of the others." _Now I'm not so sure._ Frowning, I focused, looking for auras, but the room was _so_ dark, it was hard to pick out shadow from black aura.

"That doesn't sound good."

"No, it really doesn't." _And I sincerely hope it doesn't mean something really bad._

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Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


	38. Surprise

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.

**Note** : I'm sorry to say this is the final chapter update. This is all I had done, and my muse died on me. :S Sorry, guys. If I get any sort of a muse, I'll try to complete it, but no guarantees. Thank you to all that stuck with me this long. Your comments are really appreciated. And thank you for being honest. :) In fact, a lot of the constructive critisism I got on this story, I'm using on my current one, 'Two Times Two'. ;)

So thank you all, and again I'm sorry.

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

The Autobots stood in a tight circle, their optics glancing in every direction.

"Where'd they go?" Barricade snarled lowly, half crouched.

Soundwave stood next to Prowl as the smaller Cybertronians circled between the feet of the larger. "They have all vanished underground. I believe there is a mass of sewers below our feet." Prowl was clearly unhappy to find his own charge was missing, but he masked it well.

"Kendra and Rana have gone underground." Optimus' optics were bright, more than aware of the increased speed the enemy was using, as versus his mate and the human with her. His spark rolled hotly, even as concern and happiness rolled through him. _I...have a sparkmate..._ His optics brightened even more. _Who might very well be in great danger at this moment. Slaggit!_

"We'll head after them." Will gestured for several soldiers to follow after him, he and Epps in the lead as they dashed towards a nearby manhole cover, grabbing Kendra's bow and a few fallen arrows on the way. Moving it aside, they began filing down the ladder into the sewers below.

Sam sighed from Bumblebee's left palm, while Mikeala cast everyone a concerned look from his right. "I wish there was more we could do." The boy yelped, startled, when he felt something against his back, and spun to find Optimus withdrawing his hand.

"Forgive me, Sam. I merely wished to comfort. You have already done more than enough." The Autobot leader inclined his head towards the human boy.

"Prime! I've picked up on two incoming signals!" Ironhide turned to face Optimus, his cannons forming and whirling as his own optics brightened. "They're Autobot and their signals are very similar to each other."

Raising an optic ridge, Optimus turned towards the direction Ironhide pointed out the signal was coming from. His processors kept full alert on Kendra's systems, feeling her trepidation. His spark rolled uncomfortably, and he held a hand over the chamber where the twins were wriggling a little, absently noting they were getting a little big for it.

A ping on his internal sensors indicated the two incoming bots, and his own systems told him the energy signatures were familiar, but he couldn't place them. Instead, he locked eyes on two distant figures. A red Chevy Trax and a green Chevy Beat were racing down the street in their direction. He was more than aware when the others all stiffened up as they approached, and then sagged in both annoyance and relief when they skidded to a stop and transformed, only a few feet away.

"Yo! What up homies?!"

"Oh slag no!" Ironhide slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. _**'Permission to blast them back to Cybertron, sir? Please??'**_

Biting his tongue a moment, Optimus raised an optic ridge at Ironhide, before taking a moment to gather himself. _**'Permission denied, soldier.'**_ "Skids." He nodded to the transformed Beat, who seemed to be admiring his own paint job. "Mudflap. Welcome." He nodded at the red Trax next.

_**'All we needed. **_**Another**_** Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.'**_ Ratchet groaned quietly and rolled his optics.

"What we miss??" The twins looked over at the former Decepticons warily, their hands transforming but remaining at their sides, before their optics went to the humans milling around between the massive feet of the other bots. "Why's there Decepti-fraggers here??"

"They have joined us." Rubbing his chest soothingly Optimus sighed. "Much has happened." He kept an optic out and his spark set on Kendra as he hunkered down and began explaining what had happened in their absence.

**(Kendra's POV)**

It was dark and dank...

"What is it with me and dark, dank places?" I rolled my eyes and groaned, tightening my hands into fists, only to pause. "Oh hell! I forgot my bow!" _What's with me? First I couldn't tell the little girl was a monster, and second, I _forgot_ my bow??_ Considering that was my most trusted weapon, I wasn't really happy with the fact.

"You're a trouble manget." Rana smirked a little as we paused at a corner.

"You're telling me. We're both gonna have to rely on hand-to-hand combat, in nasty, stinky sewers."

"Mate or not, Optimus is _so_ gonna make you walk."

I couldnt help but begin laughing. I could imagine it, too. Shaking my head, I peeked around the corner and stiffened up. _Shit!_ Looking around, I cringed to see nothing to use to throw at it. "Rana, stay here."

"I don't think so! If you're going, so am I!"

"These things are freaking fast!" I hissed back at her.

She shrugged. "So let's get a move on, shall we?"

Hesitating, I shook my head. I took a breath, before stepping around the corner. _Time to go._ I ran forward, my feet slapping wetly against the ground as I rushed the skeleton that spun to face me in an inhumanly fast movement. _Never gonna get over that._ I swung my fist forward, ignoring the pain in my wrist from the bite, my power crackling in my hand as I went. Unfortunately, the skeleton was faster than I was, and flashed away.

"Yie!"

I spun to see Rana jumping and ducking under an incoming skeletal arm, before she spun and kicked at the skeleton. "We gotta slow this bugger down." She grabbed it's arm as it reached for her again, wrestling with it, before sliding her feet under it and knocking the body down. It collapsed, but struggled to get back up, and Rana had to straddle it's waist, holding it's hands down. "Now!"

I slipped and slid across the grimy grounds, collapsing down and using my hands to brace myself against the creature's body, gagging as they squished against the bloody flesh. Pouring my power into my hands, I listened to the flesh crackle and scrunched up my nose as the body smoked, the creature writhing under my grasp until it disappeared.

Shuddering, I stood slowly, watching as Rana made a face at her mucked up clothes.

"Remind me to go shopping when this is all over, I'm _never_ wearing this again." I groaned, wiping off my skirt. "Come on, we'd better keep looking." I slid a little as I stood, and refused to look down and see _what_ I'd just slid on.

The sound of rushing footsteps caught our attention, and with a grimace, we both turned towards the sound, crouching slightly. I shifted the empty quiver on my back, before raising my hands, praying the sound _wasn't_ a bunch of skeletons rushing us.

And it seemed my prayors were answered.

From around the corner, several soldiers ran, lights from their guns shining in their faces, before the guy in the lead held up his hand and they all stopped. The newly revealed Lennox sighed and rolled his eyes slightly, before unshouldering my bow.

"Oh my God, thank you so much!" I eagerly grasped my bow, sighing happily as I took the arrows from Epps and slipped them into my quiver. "Gonna need to pick up more, soon." I shrugged, gripping my bow tightly. "Ok, so we need to find the girl, she's got a shard."

"We'll watch your six." With a nod, Will raised his gun again.

"Still don't get why I can't have one of those." Rana murmured as I led them down the hall.

"When you're older." I smiled mock sweetly before reaching over and rustling her hair.

She shuddered and yelped, pulling away. "Eww! Get your grubby paws off me!" She made a face as she picked a chunk of _something_ out of her hair, before shooting me a dirty look. "That is _so_ nasty!"

"You're telling me." With a sigh, I walked on, keeping close to the troops.

More than once we ran into skeletons, and the soldiers realized we were all at a disadvantage, because they couldn't risk firing their weapons without hitting not only each other, but myself or Rana. While I wasn't too worried about me, knowing metal wasn't as easily damaged as actual skin and bone, I was worried about the others. A few of the soldiers took some pretty heavy damage from these things, broken wrists, huge gashes in various places, and one even had his throat torn out.

It was so sudden. One minute we're sloshing through countless unnamed things in the dark, dank, smelly sewers. The next you're dodging and ducking super fast piles of bones with nasty bites. It was too sudden for a lot of us to even realize what was going on, before we were surrounded.

"Just how many of these things are there?!" Will was crouched in a corner, his back pressed into the cement to protect it as he aimed a pistol around him almost wildly, a gash on his arm.

I was wincing from a pain in my back, as I hunched over, feeling slightly dizzy. "Over two dozen, remember?" I glared up at the skeletons, picking an arrow up from the ground, and attempting to soothe the concern I was feeling over Optimus' bond at the same time. _What's wrong with me?_ I briefly wondered if their bites were at all poisonous, even to metallic beings.

"And how many have we killed?"

Rana grunted and ducked under a swing, before spinning away from a soldier who touched her, surprising her. "Lost count a few bodies ago."

I grimaced sharply, far too aware how wrong those words sounded, coming from her lips. _She's just a child._ I shook my head, swinging my bow like a baseball bat at an incoming skeleton. About the only upside to fighting them was that after a little while, you could almost tell when they were about to dodge or flash around. They'd tense up, all over their bodies.

And I wasn't the only one to notice, either.

Rana and Epps exchanged a look. Running forward, Epps leveled a volley of punches at the creature's head, and as it prepared to flash away, Rana came up from behind it with one of the soldiers' knives, digging it into the skeleton's blackened heart, and then gagging as the creature collapsed.

_At least these things _have_ hearts to take out._ I thought with disgust, swinging my last arrow like a sword, before knocking one on the head with my bow. Spotting a blackened aura a little distance ahead, I rushed on, leaving the last...three skeletons to the rest of the team. _Take out the leader and the rest will fall._

Turning a corner, I skidded to a stop, my heart hammering from the exertion and fear. The dizziness had faded, but I still slightly out of it. Finding myself in a large circular room with several exits, I stared at the girl just standing in the center of the room.

There was no fluctuation in her aura, and I sighed to myself, reisgnation running through me. I felt Optimus' concern grow and smiled slightly to myself before shaking my head and raising the bow. I knocked the arrow, pointing at her head and feeling my power flowing through me, the arrow glowing brightly. _I'm sorry._ Something clenched inside me as I loosed the arrow.

And the girl flashed away before the arrow could hit her.

I cursed as she rushed forward, her arm lashing out, and growling loudly as she pushed me hard. I found myself shouting in surprise as I was suddenly airborn, feeling almost weightless as I flew. But before I had a chance to really take it in, I felt myself smacking against something really hard, and a scream echoed through the room as pain shot through me, concentrated in my chest, and blinding me in it's intensity.

I heard so many sounds, but I couldn't make anything out as I slid down the wall, the red hot burning in my chest drowning _everything_ else out as I gasped sharply, struggling to breathe. It was like I was under water, shouts and snarls coming through from seemingly a distance and slowly growing clearer. Something touched me, and I tried to yell, tried to move to shove them off, but my body barely moved in response.

_Ow..._ I groaned a little, my hands coming up to clutch tightly at my stomach. The entire room seemed to explode, but something darkened my view. It took me a moment of blinking tears out of my eyes to realize there was a body over me, and even longer to realize it was Will. "As flattered...as I am." I gasped, trying to will away the pain. "I'm not...into married...men." I tried a smile, but felt my body shudder as an agonizing pain wracked my body.

"What the hell is that girl on?!"

"The walls, now." Will grimaced and leaned back, looking away.

I followed his gaze and noticed the amazingly bright light shining into the room. The center of the room was filled with debris, and that's when it hit me the ceiling was gone. "Whoa. I don't think I wanna ask." I blinked around, the burning pain refusing to fade, even as I spotted Sam stepping over a rather bloody mess on the floor, and...as Will said, the walls.

"Worried mate." Was all Will said as he turned and walked over to Rana, who was crouched in an entry way to the room.

He bent down and grabbed something, making a face and walking over briskly. "You ok? Optimus just freaked out and yelled, and then pummeled the ground." He raised an eyebrow and crouched down next to me. "You...don't look so good."

"I feel like I got hit by a..." I trailed off, giggling at the irony of the words I wanted to say. Shaking my head, I leaned forward, hissing as my back protested loudly. "That did _not_ feel good." I groaned as I slowly got up, still clutching at my chest. The burning had yet to fade, and now I was suddenly aware of the terror of the twins, and Optimus' own fright. I reassured them best as I could, taking a step forward, and then gasping a little as everything seemed to spin.

I was aware of my legs shaking badly and very nearly giving out under me, when two warm arms wrapped around my shoulders, and I found myself leaning against Sam. "Sorry. Thanks."

"Ratchet's having a fit up there, already got a bunch of soldiers in his hands. Mikeala's gonna look at you, if you're ok with that." He helped me over to the hole, where a giant hand shifted down.

I couldn't help the small, pained laugh. I was struck with a rather amusing thought of 'The hand of God', even though I recognized the large leather-clad fingers of Optimus Prime. "Talk about help from the powers above." I was in his hand before I even thought about it and smiled a little as Sam handed over the bloody shard, which glowed brightly in in my palm before settling down, and I began wiping it off on my already messy skirt, even as I leaned my side against the upraised thumb and looked up.

Optimus' concerned eyes looked down at me, and I found myself smiling at everything I could see and feel from him. "Are you alright?" His voice was low, even as he lifted me towards his chest.

As I rested against the metal of his chest, I closed my eyes. I took a moment basking in the security I felt in his arms, even though my chest still twinged in pain, and I rubbed at it briefly, before putting the shard in my pocket. I had too many to wear around my throat alone.

"I've been better. Took a nasty hit, but I think I'm alright."

"I still want you to be looked at. The agony I felt through you bond..." The hold around me tightened.

I nodded up at him, before kidding one of the armor ridges lightly. "Ok. Put me down and I'll go find Mikeala." I raised an eyebrow when instead of being lowered, I was lifted, and pressed against Optimus' face. "I love you too." I smiled and leaned against him.

"Dis da chick?"

Optimus groaned. "Later, you two."

I frowned in confusion and looked over his fingers to see two strange bots, a lot smaller than the others. In fact, they were even smaller than Jazz. "Oh! Well, Jazz will probably feel better. He's not the shortest anymore." I hadn't even realized what I'd said until many of the bots erupted into laughter around me, but for three rather indignant 'Hey!'s. I blushed. "Oops, sorry."

Climbing out of Optimus' hand. I patted his index finger as I passed. I climbed through the people, searching out the long dark brown hair of Sam's girlfriend. Didn't take long to find her milling around at Ratchet's feet, and we went a little ways off. I just didn't feel comfortable with everyone staring into my chest, even if they had to, to make sure I was ok.

Once we were a little distance away, I opened my chest to Mikeala, who gently felt around. She found a rather tender area against my back, where I'd connected with the wall, but when she pressed against the cover of my spark chamber, I felt my eyes widen and grit my teeth to keep from screaming, even as I grasped her hand and pulled it away.

"If that hurts... That's not good."

I could feel the burning of Optimus' stare. "You're telling me."

"Can you...?" She trailed off, brushing her hair out of her face as she made a vague gesture to the covered chamber.

With a sigh, I willed the cover open, and waited as she stared inside. Because I was watching her face, I watched her eyes widen in shock, and her jaw drop. Her mouth seemed to work silently for a moment, opening and closing wordlessly. Then she pulled out a cell phone, flipped it open, and without taking her eyes off me, put it to her ear. "...Ratchet? Yeah, you gotta take a look at this."

* * *

**Self-Note** : I never can remember which is which, so this is just a self note to help. XD Thanks **greenleafprince**. XD

Skids - Green Chevy Beat

Mudflap - Red Chevy Trax

Hope you like it

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


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